Between Realities - Book 4 - Yuletide Crisis
by Dragonsight Elli
Summary: As the current Pass was nearing its end, the citizens of Pern were confronted by yet another attempt by the Abominators to return Pern to the old ways, the true path. How would the weyrs and the average citizens of Pern deal with this new crisis? Find out!


Between Realities - Book IV – Yuletide CrisisChapter 1 - The Second Queen Returns (Elli's P.O.V.)

I'd often wondered what had happened to the Kylara of my reality, and I was about to find out. She'd been shipped all over the planet but rejected everywhere she went, either because of her poor work ethic or because of what she had done to cost the lives of two queens — one of whom had been her own. I didn't much fancy helping her for that reason, but Starwoman Kylara had shown me what former Weyrwoman Kylara could become if she got the help she so desperately needed.

"She's a narcissistic bitch who only does what she wants!" I cried passionately.

"Not anymore," G'narish reminded me. "Now that she's lost her dragon, she's a totally different person."

"Like Camo," I surmised.

"According to Lessa, she doesn't even talk," said F'lessan. "She just makes rude hand gestures. I'm only taking her on here because you're the reigning queen of mental health issues."

"So what do I have to do, recall Prideth to life?" I asked sarcastically.

"Perhaps if that's what it takes to revive her," Dana said, not getting the sarcasm. "Kylara could only hear Prideth. Now she's totally shunned from dragonkind. She can't hear dragon conversations the way Brekke can, and Brekke has her queen back."

"But Kylara killed her queen!" I shouted at her.

"And you don't think she regrets that every single second of every single minute of every single hour of every single day of her life?" Dana shouted back at me. "She's lost her mind for the Ancestors' sakes! You think she's lost her mind because she wanted to?"

"No," I fired back, "of course not, but it was her choice to have sex with Meron right in the middle of a mating flight, which caused Prideth to go into heat."

"Do you think she realized there was another mating flight in progress?" Dana demanded.

"She might've," I said belligerently.

_But she's lived 30 years with the consequences of her actions,_ Chlorith joined in the argument. _Don't you think that's enough?_

"I seriously think she and Meron both deserved the death penalty for what they did!" I yelled at my dragon. "That was deliberate, and they should've been executed for their offense!"

"She doesn't know anything," F'lessan argued. "She just sits or lies there like the living dead. She doesn't even go to the necessary.. She just soils herself and somebody has to change her clothing at least three times a day. The poor woman doesn't even talk. The only kind of response you'll ever get from her is if a dragon flies past. Then she shrieks like one of AIVAS' banshees. I've read the stories he's got in his files. I know they're only myths and legends, but the phrase still exists."

"Then perhaps a Weyr or Weyrhold are not good places for her," said Dana.

"They're the best places for her," F'lessan argued, "as they're the only places that elicit responses from her."

"How will she get here if she fears dragons so much?" I asked, beginning to relent somewhat.

"Wagon caravan," F'lessan grunted. "Should be coming up the road any minute now. I saw the dust cloud about 20 minutes ago."

Just then, I heard the clop clopping of hooves on the dirt road.

"The Lilcamps still use runners and burdenbeasts to trade," I remarked, glancing in the direction of the sound. "Crenden's too old-fashioned to use a sled. In fact, I think he's afraid of heights. Jayge has been trying to persuade him to use sleds, but he still won't back down. That's why we chose the Lilcamps to bring her. We weren't so sure if she'd take too kindly to flying. Might think she's still a-dragonback. She tried to jump off several dragons just as they were about to go _between_, but the dragons always caught her in their forelegs and held tight when they made the jump. She musta wanted to join Prideth."

"And what use would that have been?" Dana demanded.

"Better off that way, if you ask me." I muttered.

"That's a horrible thing to say!" Dana and F'lessan cried in concert. "You really want a person like that dead?"

"She's no use to us alive, either," I protested. "I usually wouldn't say that about someone, but she killed two queens. You really think someone like that should stay alive?"

"By the Fire Falls of Firlea, Elli, she's a human being!" Dana shouted, just as somebody came walking up the path.

Dana and F'lessan went to greet their new guests. I stood there, seething. How could that excuse for a human being get treatment? If she had lost her mind because Brekke had done what she'd done, I'd've felt sorry for her, but since Kylara herself had caused the deaths of those two queens, then she did not deserve any kind of redemption.

"What're you guys shouting about?" asked Tiffany, emerging from the bathing room.

"They're bringing Kylara here to Honshu so that I can treat her!" I stormed at my twin. "Do you realize what that excrescence is?"

"Wasn't she the one who caused the death of two queens?" asked Tiffany.

"Exactly," I said, patting her on the shoulder for remembering.

She had such a poor memory after all the horrible rounds of chemo she had had to endure back on Earth.

"And they want me to help her!" I muttered.

"Perhaps if she remembered what she did, I'd say no," said Tiffany, brows furrowed in thought. "But they say she does what she does because she's remorseful. If you feel remorse for your crimes, you deserve redemption."

"Unlike Edith in our role play, huh?" I muttered under my breath.

"Yeah," said Tiffany. "She was a monster. Everybody blames Meron and Kylara for causing the death of two queens, but what if it wasn't purposeful? What if they were coincidentally having sex in their chamber at the same time Wirenth was rising, and since Prideth wasn't far enough away, she rose as well."

"You mean, they couldn't actually see the mating flight in progress?" I sneered.

"Those windows are tiny," said Tiffany. "The shutters are always closed, and you wouldn't want to open them when you're having sex, would you? That's a private affair. As narcissistic and childish as she was, Kylara would never have deliberately caused the death of any queen, let alone her own."

The woman on the stretcher turned her head toward Tiffany. All action ceased as they gaped at her. I could only see her through Chlorith's eyes, but to her, she was an old photograph with the color gone. Her once-blue eyes were sunken into her face, and her once luxuriant blond hair was thin, white, and whisky. Her face was sunken and emaciated, and her skin was white as a sheet. I felt no pity for her whatsoever. She caused the state she was in. She wasn't like G'narish. He didn't deliberately score D'nag with Thread. D'nag wasn't like Kylara, either. He didn't fly into that clump of Thread and find himself three Turns in the future deliberately. Kylara had knowingly had sex with Meron during another queen's mating flight.

_Elli, I forgive her,_ said the unmistakable voice of Wirenth.

She glided in to land as the Lilcamps loaded up their wagons and went on their way. F'lessan had offered them klah, but they refused to spend another minute in Kylara's presence. F'lessan wheeled the stretcher into the nearest unoccupied bedroom. I followed close behind. I wanted to give this idiot a piece of my mind. Not realizing I was behind him, F'lessan made to close the door. I hurriedly slipped in while he was on the other side of the door, closing it behind me without knowing I was there.

"Okay, Kylara, here's the scoop." I said loudly, not even sure if she could hear me.

Had she gone deaf?

"You did a terrible thing," I went on, even louder. "Not only did you kill your own queen, you also killed Brekke's! I know you don't like Brekke, but she's a lot better of a woman than you'll ever hope to be! You know what she does that you don't? She cares about people other than herself. She takes responsibility for her actions. She takes on the responsibilities of a Weyrwoman and barely enjoys freedom. She likes what she does. She enjoys being a dragonhealer. She enjoys taking on responsibilities of a senior Weyrwoman, even though she's Junior Weyrwoman to Lessa. Brekke knows she's not entitled to everything she wants just because it's there! You feel entitled to Lord Meron, though he's dead, but you didn't love him. You didn't love anyone. You slept with him because you were hungry for power. You wanted all the freedom it offered, but you never wanted the responsibilities that also came with it. You are a sorry excuse for a human being, and I hate you! You're scum! Even now you just sit there and feel sorry for yourself! Believe me, I used to be the same way, but since I Impressed Chlorith I stopped. Now, I'm a happy person, and I wouldn't change it for the world, even though I did try to reject the Impression because I was a newcomer to Pern, and I was blind, and I was too old to Impress in the first place, but she started keening, and I was afraid she was gonna go _between_, so I finally accepted the Impression."

I heard a childlike sob in front of me, and I walked a few steps to investigate.

_It's her_, Chlorith said. _You have made her weep. That's an improvement. She hasn't wept since she lost Prideth._

"How do you know that?" I demanded.

_This is what everybody's saying,_ Chlorith continued_. Not one tear trickled from that woman's eye, not one tear!_

"Perhaps because she wasn't remorseful after all!" I shouted aloud as well as telepathically.

I wanted to break the silence. I wanted her to speak, to unleash a torrent of words to get it out of her system. The sobs she was uttering were positively heartbreaking, but that wasn't enough for me. Part of me wanted to go to her, to hold her and comfort her, but she was an enemy, a villain, and villains did not deserve comfort.

_Go to her, Elli,_ Chlorith said. _Work your magic._

Reluctantly, I obeyed the part of me that wanted to comfort her. I knelt down and took the sobbing invalid into my arms.

"What do you want?" I demanded gruffly. "Talk to me, Kylara. What do you want?"

"P-P-Prideth!"

The scream was guttural, coming from deep down in her belly.

"She's gone," I said as gently as I could with all the anger spewing of me. "You killed her. You did that."

"I didn't know!" she sobbed. "I asked Meron to look out the window for me in case there was a mating flight at the Weyr. He told me there were none!"

If she were lying, it sure didn't sound like it. It was common knowledge that Meron had hated dragons. If she was telling the truth, Meron held much more of the blame than she did.

"Are you telling the truth?" I asked, much as I would've asked the twins when they were telling me tall tales.

"Yes, I swear it on the shell of my d-d-dragon's egg!" Kylara wept.

I paused, pressing a finger to my lips. I thought I had distinctly heard the strains of "Keymon's Song" playing oh-so-faintly in my head. Why would the dragons be singing "Keymon's Song", and why at such a muted volume? Should I join in? Was Dana taking care of it? There was a surreptitious knock on the door.

"Come in?" I called out.

Kylara flinched away from me. I took her back in my arms and held her firmly.

"You realize Chlorith just started singing 'Keymon's Song'?" asked Dana, coming into the room.

"I don't know," I said confusedly. "I sure didn't initiate it. I wish Feerah were here. She'd be able to tell whether or not Kylara's telling the truth here. She claims she didn't know there was a mating flight going on. She claims that Meron kept her away from the window during the mating so that Kylara couldn't see what was going on. I highly doubt that, but anything's possible."

_She is,_ said a new voice as the strains of "Keymon's song" died away. _I tried to contact her, but he kept telling her not to listen. He told her I wasn't important, just him._

"Prideth!" Kylara screamed again, and she ran out the door, into the corridor, out the front door, and to the newcomer's side. Prideth was badly hurt, but not so much as Wirenth. Dana would have to do delicate surgery, but she should be able to recover fully from the beating Wirenth had given her.

_I forgive you, Prideth,_ Wirenth said, stretching out her wing and putting it around her. _You tried to warn Kylara before I beat the shit out of you. You shouldn't've invaded my mating flight, but Kylara had no way of knowing that I was rising, because Meron kept the shutters closed and wouldn't allow her to open them to check on you. If he had, then this wouldn't've happened._

"We need to get her to the hospital," said Dana. "I can patch her up there because that's where my medical supplies are. I do have a first-aid kit, but that won't stop the worst of the bleeding."

"Let's go!" I said. "Prideth's too weak for you to ride her just yet. Would you mind riding one of our dragons this time?"

Kylara had her arms around her dragon's neck and didn't look as though she was willing to let go any time soon.

_Go, Kylara,_ Prideth rumbled, _I will ride with Wirenth. My wings are too badly hurt to fly._

"I'm so sorry, my love!" Kylara sobbed hysterically. "I'm so sorry I let you die!"

_But I'm not dead,_ argued Prideth. _But I will be if you don't let go and let Wirenth fly me._

"That'd mean Brekke would have to fly with one of us too, because Prideth will be taking up all the room on Wirenth's back."

_I can help her,_ Chlorith rumbled.

_And I_, Tarnaa joined in.

"Then where will all the humans ride?" asked Brekke.

"Take my hand," Dana instructed. "Kylara, you hold onto Elli. Brekke, you hold onto Kylara. Elli you hold onto me."

The next thing we knew, a terrible cold had gripped us, but eight seconds later, it was gone, and we were breathing salty sea air. I wouldn't have known we were breathing sea air except for the gentle waves that lapped up on the shore.

"What the actual fuck?" I asked, incredulously.

"I can teleport like a dragon, remember?" said Dana in a duh voice.

"I've just never experienced it before," I said shakily. Then, recovering, I added, "Let's all go for a swim while Dana works on Prideth."

"All work and no play, huh?" teased Dana as we headed for the sand to take off our clothes and go skinny dipping. Chlorith, Wirenth, and Tarnaa deposited their burden at the front doors of the hospital. Dana, Kara, Ryeena, and M'rice carried her laboriously inside and set her on a table built expressly for dragons. Kylara wanted to be with her queen, but I told her they were going to do delicate work on her, and that she would be in the way. Kylara burst into tears again, but I took her hand firmly and led her toward the water.

Chapter 2 – Journey Of Redemption (Dana's P.O.V.)

It didn't take long for word to spread through the hospital about our latest dragon patient. I was going to have my hands full dealing with Prideth's surgery… plus the active hostility I could feel in the air from the others.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Rill hissed, seizing my arm as I was suturing one of Prideth's neck wounds closed. "Do you have any idea how many people are going to be furious about this?!"

"I'm a healer, Rill," I calmly replied, rethreading my needle. "I swore an oath to care for every dragon on Pern, regardless of who that dragon had Impressed. Remember, this hospital is open to all of Pern, not just a select few. Besides, I wasn't the one who called Prideth from _between_. The dragons did that on their own."

"What?!" she gasped. "Why?"

"To help her rider," I sighed, wiping the suture site with a clean gauze before picking up where I left off. "Have you met Starwoman Kylara and her Prideth?"

"Of course I have," Rill muttered. "It's just that…"

"Rill, you helped us with the cometary fragment," I said to her, laying my hand on her shoulder. "Please, help me with this, too. I have a feeling… I can't explain it, but… I have a feeling these two will be crucial to our future survival. Please!"

Rill glanced from me to Prideth, then out the window to where we could see the others, including our Kylara, relaxing down at the beach.

"Fine," she finally muttered, shaking her head. "I hope you're right about this."

"You and me both!" I chuckled, giving her shoulder a companionable squeeze. "Thanks, Rill!"

I'd heard all the reports about that incident…how Wirenth had risen to mate… how Kylara hadn't taken Prideth far enough away. I was all too familiar with every single cut, tear, rip, and puncture I had patched on Brekke's lifemate. And I would always be reminded of my part in that every time I looked at my transformed self in the mirror.

With the last of Prideth's wounds repaired as best I could and with a generous layer of numbweed applied to help ease any discomfort, we moved Prideth to a recovery room where the warm sands of the floor wallow would ease her aches. Once she was suitably arranged and comfortable, I sent someone to fetch her rider.

Still only partially dressed in her haste to return to the hospital, I stopped Kylara in the doorway, offering her an oversized lab coat for her to wear.

"We don't want to risk any infections getting into those wounds," I softly spoke, helping Kylara into the coat.

Then, watchfully beside her, I led Kylara over to her dragon.

"I'm sorry," Kylara whimpered, leaning gently against her dragon's neck. "I am so sorry!"

Prideth didn't say a word, but the gentle way that she nuzzled her rider let me know she was forgiven. The hard part now was changing the minds of the rest of Pern. And, I had in mind a way we could start that.

It took several months for all of Prideth's wounds to finally heal and another month of Chlorith's physical therapy before Prideth was once more cleared to fly. During that time, I kept Kylara busy, working and studying along with the other healer-riders of Robinton Cove. Many were reluctant at first to work so closely with the notorious Weyrwoman. But as time went by, even the most jaded of them had to admit Kylara's attitude had markedly changed.

Bright and early one morning, I put my plan into motion. Ryeena, Brekke, Kylara, and I were awing astride our dragons, heading off to a remote location in Nabol Hold where one of the holders had been injured, caught in a stampede of the herdbeast he'd been raising when a tunnel snake spooked the herd.

The holders ran out to greet us as our dragons landed, grateful to see us… at least until one of them recognized the former High Reaches Weyrwoman.

"Shards and shells, what is she doing here?!" the eldest holder demanded, pointing at Kylara.

"She's here to assist me," I replied, stepping up to Kylara's side.

"You can't be serious!" another holder exclaimed, brandishing a farm tool in a threatening manner. "We don't want her here… not after what she did!"

"I, more than anyone, know how badly injured Wirenth was as a result of that ill-fated mating flight," I calmly spoke, laying a hand on Kylara's shoulder. "And yet, in spite of what occurred, Wirenth has forgiven Prideth and her rider."

"What?!" several holders gasped as one.

"See for yourself," I said, pointing to where the two dragons stood, side by side, Wirenth and Prideth rubbing muzzles together.

In a louder voice so that it would carry out across the holders, I said, "Given what Kylara has told me about those times, she was unaware of what was happening back then. Meron deliberately kept her from witnessing the mating flight, keeping Kylara in the dark about what was happening. It may well have been retaliation for the humiliation he suffered in that aborted attempt to get the holds to end tithing to the Weyrs, convinced that Thread would no longer fall on Pern. We all know what happened at the beginning of this Pass."

"Kylara has been working diligently with the other healer-riders at Robinton Cove," I went on, smiling and nodding to Prideth's rider, "vastly improving her healing abilities. She can't undo what happened back then, but she can move forward, seeking forgiveness from those who have the courage to offer it. She is here with me today in hopes of beginning that journey of forgiveness and to rebuild the trust she has lost. Who among you is willing to be the first to offer it?"

Several minutes passed in silence, the gathered holders glancing back and forth at each other.

"I will," someone called out from the back.

Supported on both sides by his sons, the injured holder hobbled his way through the crowd, coming to stand one-footed in front of Kylara. Under his fierce scrutiny, Kylara turned away, trembling slightly.

"Meet my eyes, rider," the holder demanded.

Giving Kylara's shoulder a comforting squeeze, I nodded to her. Slowly, reluctantly, she turned and met his gaze.

"You have courage, rider," he quietly spoke, nodding to her. "And even a fool can see that your dragons have made up. If you've come all this way to heal me, then let's get to it."

Tears falling from her eyes, Kylara quietly told him, "Thank you. Now, let's get you back inside."

The holder's sons helped him back into their house, Kylara and the rest of us close behind. Once more resting in his bed, Kylara got right to work, Ryeena and Brekke assisting. By the time she was finished, even the most reluctant of the hold's occupants had to admit Kylara had done fine work.

"Nicely done, rider," the injured holder complimented her.

"I had good and patient teachers," Kylara replied, smiling as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for giving me a chance."

Looking at me, the holder declared, "We'll spread the word, Masterhealer. If anyone we know needs healing help, we'll make sure they ask for Kylara."

"I just showed Kylara the path," I replied, nodding my thanks. "She made the choice to set foot on it in order to begin that journey to redemption."

"It is good to see," the holder said, once again nodding to Kylara. "I pray, healer-rider, that you find success in your journey."

"It's a good start," Kylara sighed, smiling through tears of relief.

We made our farewells to the rest of the hold, boarding our dragons and taking to the skies. Just before we vanished _between_ back to Robinton Cove, I couldn't help noticing the upright posture and the sense of pride and peace of spirit that Kylara radiated. I could only hope that it would be enough to sustain her through the trials I sensed were coming.

Chapter 3 - A Threat Unveiled (Elli's P.O.V.)

Work on my mental hospital had stopped altogether at Honshu. People seemed to think that mental healing was analogous to physical healing, and therefore, patients should be treated at Robinton Cove. G'narish and I had our own house built so that Dana wouldn't have to expand her house and change it from the way Master Robinton had lived in it. Tiffany and D'nag had their house built right next door to ours. Our house was built right next door to Dana's. Both guest rooms were occupied by Mia and Ryeena, so we couldn't very well impede on them. Besides, we had Calentia, Seska, Ariana, Oriana, Ganellin, Denager, Xakkari, the still-ill Andreas, Gabriel, and Linda living with us, so we needed bigger accommodations. Tiffany had her two sets of twins, her quads, and her singleton son Tommy with her, so she needed bigger accommodations for her family as well. Because of our problems with steps, they were built on all one level, with a basement for storage that had one railing on either side of the steps and a door on both the bottom and the top of the stairs so that I knew it was coming. I actually thought of putting a bedroom or two down there, but G'narish was afraid of someone catching their death of illness down there, so he vetoed that idea.

"I used to sleep down there when I lived on Earth," I argued.

But, uncharacteristically, G'narish put his foot down. We were, however, able to put the old-fashioned, (to me, newfangled to the native Pernese), washer and dryer Benelek had finally perfected down in the basement, though I would have preferred them on the ground level. As all major and minor Holds, Weyrs, Crafthalls, and cots had electricity wired in them since Present Pass 31, all the washers, dryers, and dishwashers were being installed in them. The clothes and dishwashers all required plumbing, but they'd never lost the art of indoor plumbing on Pern.

Today, I was gloomily plucking out Christmas carols on my electric piano I'd brought from Earth, fighting back tears of disappointment once again. I was in the middle of my medley which comprised "Jingle Bell Rock", "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree", and "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer", when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"What's the matter, Elli?" asked G'narish, watching a slow tear trickle down my face.

I took a deep, shuddering breath before answering.

"I just miss celebrating Christmas," I told him. "It's been 17 Turns, and I haven't celebrated it once. I can see why we don't celebrate it on Pern. We'd have to adapt too much to the story, and the settlers had completely abolished anything to do with religion, but I just miss it so much!"

And I broke down completely, my chin falling onto my chest. G'narish made me turn to face him and gathered me up into his arms.

"If it means that much to you, why did you come?" he queried.

"I thought we could celebrate it here, but there's too much to change so that it meets Pern's standards."

"Elizabeth? Marie-Antoinette?" he called over my shoulder.

He released me and walked away. I could hear him rustling sheets of paper, hear him scribbling away.

"Elizabeth, send this to F'lar, and Marie-Antoinette, send this to Sebell. I'll text the rest."

Thinking that he had gone back to regular business, I just slumped dejectedly back on my bench. No one cared. No one would ever care. Santa was a long-forgotten memory, and the baby Jesus could rot in hell for all the Pernese cared about him. Not that I was in the least bit religious, but I still believed in God. He had pulled off so many miracles for my loved ones that I couldn't not believe in Him. It was only fitting that we celebrated His birthday, wasn't it? But for a people who had never heard of God, how would this be possible?

The next day, I heard G'narish texting away on his phone. I rolled over in bed, trying to get back to sleep. What was the point in hoping yet again? Even the date would have to be changed from December 25th to Perntember 22nd, because Christmas was always celebrated a week before New Year's. G'narish gasped.

"I got it!" he breathed and texted even more furiously on his phone.

"What's up?" I asked sleepily.

"Oh, nothing," he nonchalantly replied. "Go back to sleep."

But I couldn't go back to sleep. There was a pounding at the door. With no time to get dressed, I hurried out of the room in my pajamas to answer the door.

"Who is it?" I demanded, putting my hand on the doorknob.

"It's Dana," she called out, urgency in her voice. "Open up!"

I opened the door to see her and Kara standing there, the latter visibly trembling.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Abominators!" Kara cried, her face white. "They're gonna crash the Gather celebrations on the 22nd of Perntember! They're gonna kidnap us and destroy this hospital and all the observatories!"

"Then we have to stop them," I said, Christmas temporarily forgotten.

"How?" asked Kara.

"We'll put a dragon on guard at all the observatories and here. That's only six places, so we can handle the absence of six dragons during the—wait a minute—what Gather celebrations? I was unaware that there were to be any Gathers on the 22nd of Perntember. That's the dead of winter in the North. They never have gathers in the North during the dead of Winter!"

Kara was suddenly embarrassed. I could tell by her silence.

"We needed to deliver news of the threat, so we had to tell her," Dana said gently, trying to comfort Kara.

"It was supposed to be a surprise," Kara whispered shakily, tears coming to her eyes.

"Rudolth the Red-flamed dragon," sang Dana under her breath.

"It's Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer," I muttered under my own breath.

"Not anymore," G'narish said proudly. "I figured it out. That's what all the texting was about. Santa was an original colonist who Impressed Rudolth, and he never dies, so every Turn on Christmas he delivers presents to everyone on Pern, and he times it so that he always appears at midnight everywhere he goes! He's also a smithcrafter, so he spends the rest of the year making all the presents for the people of Pern. He forgot what he was supposed to do because of Threadfall, but this year, he suddenly remembered, and he vows never to forget again. He lives alone with Rudolth in the snowy wastes near the High Reaches Weyr, and Rudolth produces a red flame when he chews firestone. That guides Santa through the skies of Pern when he delivers presents. He goes _between_ after he finishes delivering to every Hold, Hall, and Cot within a major Hold, so he travels to the next major Hold by going _between_ and timing it so that it's exactly midnight when he lands at the major Hold. In reality, the Weyrleaders will be delivering gifts to everyone in the Holds that tithe to them. When the Pass is over, they'll deliver to everyone in their area. As for Jesus' birth, many of your people saw it as a legend anyway, so that's how we'll treat it. I've been busy accessing all the AIVAS files about Christmas and trying to learn all the Christmas carols that were written."

"There's a lot of those," Dana mumbled.

"But they're gonna ruin Christmas!" Kara cried, and she exploded into tears.

"We won't let that happen!" I cried. "We'll have Gathers in each and every one of those locations so that Abominators can't mess them up."

"Good idea!" said Dana approvingly. "How will we start?"

"Watch dragons, flares, anything we can think of!" I said, hugging Kara to me.

I could see why the Abominators troubled her so much. Dana had taught her the truth, and her Da was an Abominator who refused to change his mind. She had deep love and affection for her father, but yet she now knew the truth, so she was now placed between a rock and a hard place. I knew how that felt, to be in the middle between two very dear friends or loved ones that couldn't see eye-to-eye. None of my parents were that way, except when it came to raising me. Then the one parent who had the strongest influence on me did everything for me, and the other three parents blamed her for my lack of knowledge of how to take care of myself. The last thing Dad had said before he died was how proud of me he was. That would always bring tears to my eyes, because all I'd ever wanted to do was please him, and I'd given up because I thought it was impossible. He would never be able to celebrate Christmas now. Of course he was always a Scrooge, so he probably relished the absence of Christmas, but it was an Earth holiday, so there was that sense of regret that he and Tiffany's Oma would not be able to share it with us.

"Don't worry about the Abominators." Tiffany said, coming into the kitchen from the outside. "They're just stupid, and they suck!"

She was unaware that Kara's Da was among them. Kara clung to me in utter despair.

"Perhaps you can teach your Da the truth," I said softly. "It's gonna take a while, because he's older and less receptive to new ideas than you are, but he needs to know that dragonriders didn't cause Thread. He needs to know that Thread is almost gone forever, and that we're gonna have much better lives than we had before. We'll be able to branch out and live as the settlers had hoped to live before Thread caught them completely by surprise. Our dragons will be relegated to shifting cometary fragments and asteroids, but they can also carry people around who can't take a sled for some reason. We don't need sleds, of course, because we have our dragons, but a queen rider can always use a sled when her dragon's in clutch. I mean, look at Starwoman Kylara's sled. It makes no noise whatsoever, and she can fly it anywhere she wants. Now that Prideth's able to fly, she'll use it less and less, but I'm sure she'd let someone borrow it if she can't use it. Perhaps we should bespeak every dragon on Pern to make sure there are no Dragonriders among the new Abominators. That'd make our job so much easier."

"You mean your dad's one of those maniacs?" Tiffany demanded.

Kara nodded her head against my shoulder.

"She nodded," I told Tiffany.

Kara let out a high-pitched moan and collapsed against me. Dana patted the top of her head.

"Don't worry, dear heart; we'll do something about it."

"But my da!" Kara sobbed. "What're we gonna do about him?"

"We'll think of something. Perntember 22nd is a month away yet. We'll have time to plan."

Chapter 4 – The Old And The New (Dana's P.O.V.)

Truth be told, a month in the grand cosmic scheme of Time is but the blink of an eye. We had to learn what we could about this new round of Abominators and what they were planning for the Yuletide celebration. And the place to start was Fort Hold.

Kara's Da had been the lone survivor of the Threadfall in the Ruathan canyon during the Exiles crisis. He had been taken back to Fort Hold under heavily armed escort to receive treatment for his injuries and to await trial for his crimes.

Kara had learned the truth about Thread and where it came from. It wasn't brought by the dragonriders as she'd first believed. That was a lie the elders of her former Exiles village had spun in order to fuel their hatred of the dragonriders and their exile. It had taken a supreme effort to convince the dragonriders of their error… abandoning the Exiles to the ravages of Thread without any sort of protection. It had taken another herculean effort to convince the Lords Holder to end their banishment and allow those Exiles who wished to to return to their former homes.

Change is the great universal constant, and throughout the history of every civilization in the universe, there were always those who resisted change. So it was here on Pern. Those who fought against change had a name… the Abominators. They had used that name disparagingly, criticizing the changes the dragonriders were making during their fight to alter the orbit of the Red Star. They used it with equal abandon to condemn any and all who supported the dragonriders, even though what the dragonriders were working for was an end to the mindless menace that threatened all of Pern! The Abominators didn't seem to care that, in freeing Pern from Thread, the dragonriders would be eliminating the very reason for their existence. None of the Abominators seemed to care what would happen to the Dragonriders of Pern once Threadfall was over and done.

That fact was one of the reasons I had started the teaching hospital… to give some of the dragonriders a new purpose, a new usefulness that would replace the sometimes horrific existence they had endured during the Pass. I was certain the remaining dragonriders would find other pursuits, other ways they and their dragons could once more find a sense of purpose and usefulness in. It was just going to take time. Right now, I had to focus on Kara's Da and what had become of him.

"Lord Groghe," I spoke as I was ushered into his Hold office.

"Masterhealer," he responded, rising from his desk to come forward and give me a hug. "It's good to see you again."

"It's always a pleasure to see you, sir," I responded, smiling back. "I only wish I was here on more pleasant matters."

"Of course," Groghe grunted, nodding. "Kara's Da."

I nodded. "What happened?"

"Same as last time," Groghe admitted, clenching his fists in rage. "Someone drugged the guard with fellis. When his replacement showed up for shift change, the poor man found his friend lying by the open cell door, his head cleaved clean off at the neck. Kara's Da was nowhere to be found."

"And you, Lord Groghe?" I asked, laying my hand on his massive shoulder. "How are you handling it?"

"I won't lie, Dana," he muttered, shaking his head. "If the traitor was here standing before me, I'd be sorely tempted to disembowel him on the spot. Damned Abominators! Why can't they see that what we're doing is for the good of Pern? And for their own good, shard it all!"

"I wish I had an answer for that, sir," I sighed, giving his shoulder an understanding squeeze of support. "Doesn't seem to matter where a sentient being comes from, there always seem to be those who fear change and would rather die than alter what they have known."

"Fools," Groghe spat. Looking at me, he added, "How's Kara taking it?"

"Not well," I had to admit. "In spite of what she endured, she still loves her father."

"Only now, she's a queen rider," Groghe sighed, nodding understanding, "joining the ranks of the very thing the Abominators hate most… the Dragonriders of Pern."

Straightening up, Groghe turned his fierce gaze on me. "I'll do everything I can to clear this mess up, Dana. I give you my word."

"Never doubted that for a moment, Lord Groghe," I replied, nodding to him. "Still have the satphone I gave you?"

"Right here," Groghe replied, patting the device clipped to his belt. "I have to admit. It's a lot faster and more precise than sending messages via either drum towers or fire lizard."

"And Merga?" I asked, a slight smile coming to my lips.

"Busy sunning herself on the roof," Groghe chuckled. "I'll call you as soon as I learn anything, Dana."

"I appreciate that, Lord Groghe," I replied as we shook hands.

My next stop was the Harper Hall and Masterharper Sebell's office. I wanted to discuss the plans for the upcoming Yuletide Gather celebrations.

"It's hard to fathom just how much of the old knowledge and traditions our ancestors either lost or forgot in coming to Pern," he complained, tapping the documents spread out on the surface of his desk. "So many traditions lost in the scramble to survive Threadfall."

"Traditions that can be revisited now that this Pass is nearly over," I suggested, leaning on the edge of his desk, "especially now that a final end to Threadfall is upon us. Surely that would be reason enough to celebrate… and to renew some of the old traditions."

"Wonder how the Abominators feel about that?" Sebell chuckled, though with little mirth.

"Don't shun the Abominators, Sebell," I urged, tapping one of the documents. "That's been part of the problem. We need to find ways to include them in Pern society, not turn them away."

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, Dana," Sebell sighed, Kimi chirping her support from the Harper's shoulder. "Any thoughts on how to approach it?"

"Once this Pass is over and Thread removed forever from the skies of Pern," I remarked, "the average citizen will be able to spread out and pursue what interests him or her. That means exploring new opportunities, new experiences. It could even mean the re-emergence of religious practices on Pern. The upcoming Yuletide celebration is a perfect example. While it derives primarily from Old Earth Christian beliefs, it was also a time for families to get together, to celebrate peace and love for each other."

"You mean, like our present day Gathers," Menolly chimed in as she entered.

"Well, they were certainly gatherings," I responded, nodding to her as she pulled up a seat, "but primarily derived from their religious beliefs, their hopes for peace throughout the world, and their love of family and friends. Yule is the ancient name in the old Earth Germanic lunar calendar for a winter festival corresponding to December and January. Later, yule referred to the 12-day holiday associated with the Feast of the Nativity after the widespread adoption of Christianity through what was then Northern Europe."

"One of the Ancients' religious beliefs you mentioned," Sebell observed.

I nodded. "While Yule can refer to both Christmas itself and the season, yuletide references the season as a whole—essentially that period on old Earth from early December to early January."

"You suggested finding ways to include the Abominators in the celebration," Menolly commented.

Once again, I nodded. "You, yourself, Menolly, experienced something akin to the shunning the Abominators are feeling."

"What are you talking about?" Menolly objected. "I never…"

"I've heard the stories from Alemi," I explained, raising my hands, begging for patience while I explained. "Your mother, Mavi, when Harper Elgion first arrived at Half-Circle, wouldn't let you sing along with the Harper. Your parents were afraid that if he discovered that a mere girl had been doing the teaching after Petiron passed away that the Hold would be disgraced."

"Well, thankfully, that misunderstanding has been laid to rest," Sebell commented, giving his wife's hand a gentle squeeze.

"And yet, you still felt the anger and sense of betrayal at being denied what you wanted so desperately to do, didn't you?" I asked, meeting her gaze squarely.

Menolly opened her mouth to say something… then hesitated, her eyes searching mine. Silently, her mouth formed an "O" when she realized the truth of what I was saying.

I nodded my understanding. "We have to find a way to include the Abominators in the upcoming Yuletide celebration, or it could force them to lash out in frustration… much as the Exiles did because of their banishment."

"And we all know how that very nearly turned out," Menolly muttered, shaking her head. "But how? How do we include them? With all the advances that are now in place…"

"All the thrice-cursed abominations, as they put it," Sebell sighed, shaking his head, "how do we possibly bridge that gap?"

"By finding something all concerned parties like to do," I suggested. "The Abominators say they want to go back to the old ways, to return Pern to the way it was before AIVAS. While we all know that is no longer possible, maybe reintroducing some of the customs the Ancients first brought with them to Pern would be a start."

"Like what?" Menolly asked.

"Maybe something as simple as singing carols like the Ancients used to do before they left Earth," I offered. "Have you ever heard the Christmas carol, 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree'?"

"A new song?" Menolly gasped, eyes lighting up.

"A very old song," I corrected her, "popular among party goers during the Yuletide celebrations of old Earth. There are many other songs from that celebration time, some religious, some just good fun to sing… like 'Snoopy's Christmas'. A quaint song, but I still find I like listening to it around that time of year. It reminds me of the love of family I always treasured."

"I think I'll pay AIVAS a visit right away," Menolly said, rising from her chair.

"It's not a bad idea, either," Sebell remarked, also rising. "Bringing back an old tradition, it might help mellow the Abominators' attitudes."

"I hope so," I sighed, smiling as I nodded to my two Harper friends.

I didn't want to say out loud what could happen to the people of Pern if we didn't find a way to bridge that chasm between the two factions. My fertile imagination had already conjured up several nightmarish possibilities. I was hoping we could act in time to prevent them from occurring.

Chapter 5 - An Awful Discovery (Elli's P.O.V.)

I thought Dana's plan had some merit, but there was a major flaw in it. The Abominators would see the celebration of Christmas as a bad thing, and therefore, would not want to take part in it. Inviting them to do so would only fuel their fire. Christmas was brought on by the Abominations, human and computer alike, and therefore, must be stopped. The Abominators would be the Grinches that stole Christmas, or at least crashed the Gather celebrations. It was Tiffany who alerted me to this flaw. She was hardly ever a pessimist, but today she seemed depressed. At first, I jotted it down to her missing her Oma and not being able to share Pern's first Yuletide with her. But when she flat out refused to help me, G'narish, and D'nag pick out a Christmas tree, I knew something was up.

"What's the point in celebrating when the Abominators are just gonna crash it anyway?" Tiffany wept. "I don't want to celebrate Christmas anymore. It'll just be ruined by the Abominators."

"If we include them in the celebrations, they won't ruin them," I told her calmly, pulling her head down to my shoulder and letting her weep there. "We're going to great lengths to make sure everyone on Pern enjoys themselves, whether they have snow or not. Do you realize this'll be my first Christmas in a tropical climate? I don't ever remember having a green Christmas before in my life! Oh I'm so excited! Seventeen Turns without Christmas is 17 Turns too many!"

"Can I help?" asked a timid female voice behind me.

I couldn't turn with my twin's head on my shoulder and my arms around her, so I turned my head to see who was speaking.

"Is that you, Kylara?" I asked tentatively.

"Yes," she replied. "Can I help?"

"Do you have the ability to help?" I asked, annoyed with her poor grammar.

"Of course!" she cried, missing the sarcasm.

"You MAY help if you think you can do something," I said, putting an emphasis on the qualifier. "What do you think you can do?"

"I can spy on them," she tentatively suggested. "I can pretend to go back to my old ways and see if I can find her da and get him to talk."

"You've passed your sexual prime," I laughed, "but he probably did, too. Besides, he's taken."

"Not from what I found out," she said, a sensuous purr in her voice.

_Oh no_, I thought, _she really hasn't changed a bit._

"What did you find out?" I asked.

"He's been sleeping with every woman he can lay hands on to get one of them pregnant," Kylara explained. "He wants a new child to replace his abomination of a daughter who became one of those people he hates."

"Kara's gonna flip her lid!" I said in the voice I reserve for times when shit is about to hit the fan.

Tiffany raised her face to look at Kylara. "How did you find this out?"

"From her mama when she came into the hospital to get those growths cleaned out of her womb," she went on. "Her husband says Dana botched the cleaning on purpose. It wasn't even close to being botched! She's just reaching the end of her fertility. She can't produce another child, so he's going all over the place to try to find someone who will give him one that he can educate the way he tried… and failed… to educate Kara."

"That is re-damn-diculous!" Tiffany said feelingly.

"Plus, he's in direct contact with Toric," Kylara continued, all sensuousness gone from her voice, to be replaced with righteous anger. "Dorse set them up when he learned that they were of like minds. I confess, when I first met AIVAS, I was scared. Then, I was angry that I'd missed out on so much. I was unaware of anything for 30 Turns until they recalled my Prideth to me. I didn't realize just what I had until I lost her."

Her voice broke. I released Tiffany and took Kylara up in my arms. I remembered how reluctant I'd been to take her on as a patient in the mental health branch of Dana's teaching hospital, but now she, Dana, Kara, Ryeena, Tiffany, and I were one big happy family. When T'bor, no longer Weyrleader of the High Reaches, first saw Kylara, he, too, had blanched. But when Prideth rose to mate and Orth flew her, (what else is new?). He grew to love the new Kylara, and he stayed on at the hospital to learn how he and Orth could heal others. I hadn't thought it would be in his nature to heal, but he was really coming on strong. I remembered the awful Turns he'd spent with Kylara, who had hated his guts because he wasn't powerful enough, but now she, too, had fallen in love. T'bor was the father of at least one of her children. She didn't remember who the fathers of the other four were, but they had all grown up with the stigma of a mentally defective mother. Children weren't as close to their parents on Pern as they were on Earth, but fostering was a necessary practice because the Holds, Weyrs, and Crafthalls would have been subject to dangerous inbreeding if they hadn't spread out. Cilyntia was our fosterling. The rearing of children stopped when they became dragonriders, but I didn't care. I still reared my children who were under 18 even after they became dragonriders. My twins definitely still needed raising after they became dragonriders.

"What's this about Toric?" Dana demanded, coming into the room.

She needed to go home and shower. She had just gotten out of surgery, and she was covered in blood… human blood this time, thankfully, not dragon blood.

"Toric is an Abominator," Kylara said firmly. "He's been assisting Kara's Da whenever he performed an act of violence. I have no doubt that Southern Hold will not be partaking in the Yuletide celebrations. Tiffany doesn't think the Abominators will want to take part in the Yuletide celebrations because it's an old Earth tradition. They will act against it. They will purposefully ruin it so that we go back to the old ways. And another thing, Kara's da's been sleeping with every woman he can get his hands on, trying to produce a child that will listen to him rather than stupid dragonriders."

I heard a sob behind me.

"Kylara!" I hissed, but it was too late.

Kara had been helping Dana in surgery, and she had just walked into the room, hearing everything Kylara was reporting. I slapped her on the back for her tactlessness and ran to Kara, but Dana had gotten there first. She held the weeping child to her, rocking her, shushing her, trying to calm the inconsolable girl.

"I thought he loved me!" she sobbed. "I thought he loved me!"

"Shh, shh, sweetie," Dana whispered.

But Kara could not be shushed. She pulled free of Dana's tight embrace and ran out of the room. Dana tried to run after her, but Kara had slammed the door of the hospital before Dana could get to it. I went to her, knowing exactly how she felt. I also knew how Kara felt because I had had to deliver the blow to Raeana that her father never really loved her, either. When she had asked me why he couldn't come to Pern with us, I had had to tell her the truth, that he was a scumbag who only cared about himself and was trying to do everything he could to get out of paying child support for her. She had wept for days afterward, withdrawing into herself for a long time. Only the Impression of Miroirth had snapped her out of her lethargy, and that had taken place three Turns after we had come to Pern. I told Dana the story now, as she sniffled miserably in my embrace. I had delivered the blow gently, but Kylara hadn't known Kara had walked in the room at that precise moment. Kara was only 17, and she had still deeply loved her da. Now that her da was turning out to be a psychopath, she would have to deal with that issue.

"Perhaps we should send Raeana a text to get her ass over to Robinton Cove right away," Kylara suggested, trying desperately to make up for what she had done. "She had to deal with the same issue Kara's dealing with right now."

"I kind of can't get my phone right now," I said in a duh voice; "and who knows where she went. She left the hospital. I could hear Plinath take off."

"Shit!" Kylara exclaimed, using an Earth oath for the first time ever in my hearing.

"What're we gonna do?" Dana cried passionately. "She might have gone to find her da."

"My Chlorith can contact Plinath. Then one of us can get the image of where she is to her and follow her."

"What if she timed it?" Kylara demanded.

"That would be a problem then but I don't think so," I argued. "I don't think she'da timed it for something like this. Her da's in the present. He's not a dragonrider, so he wouldn't be able to time it, unless he has abilities like Dana."

The sarcasm was lost on the three other women who were in the room.

"I feel really bad now," Kylara muttered. "I should have checked to see if someone was walking into the room."

"Kara doesn't make much noise walking, does she?" I said.

"Someone needs to go after her," Tiffany commented. "If none of you will do it, I will!"

To prove her point, she turned and stormed out of the room.

"Not that we weren't going to go," I muttered under my breath. "We were just trying to plan it out."

"Some things don't need a plan," Dana sniffled.

"Where are her favorite places to be?" I asked. "We each pick one and check to see if she's there."

"Eastern Islands Weyr, here, and Fort Hold," Dana reeled off.

"Okay, each of us pick a place, and we'll check it."

Chapter 6 – New Clues (Dana's P.O.V.)

As Tarnaa and I took wing, I had a feeling I knew precisely where Kara and Plinath had gone… to the same spot Tarnaa and Goldie had first befriended her… to the same spot where she had discovered that she could hear dragons!

_She is below_, Tarnaa rumbled as we popped out of _between_ directly above Glory Escarpment.

We had fled here during the Exiles crisis after informing the residents of Kara's village about the loss of life in the Ruathan canyon. The pain back then was just like the pain she now felt. In a way, it made sense that she'd come here.

Tarnaa and I landed a short distance away. To her credit, Plinath didn't say a word. Goldie, however, was less restrained, chittering hysterically as she swirled about Kara's head.

"Goldie?! What… what are you…"

And then, she spotted me as I slid down Tarnaa's side.

"Leave me alone," Kara muttered, looking away.

"You know I can't do that," I quietly spoke as I slowly approached. "Kara, you somehow formed a bond with Tarnaa back then, do you remember?"

She didn't respond; just kept her back to me.

"She feels your pain," I went on, reaching Plinath's side. "And, through her, so do I."

Quietly weeping, Kara's shoulders slowly slumped forward.

"Do you remember that day Goldie first landed on your shoulder?" I asked, gently resting my hand on Plinath's side. "The day we went to your village to inform them that dragonriders would finally be fighting Thread over the islands?"

Almost imperceptibly, Kara nodded, still not looking my way.

"Tarnaa and Goldie both saw something special in you, Kara," I told her, gently patting Plinath's side. "So did I. So did Plinath."

Kara did look up at that moment, sniffing back tears as she gave her lifemate a loving caress.

"Kara, look at me," I begged.

She didn't move.

"Please."

Slowly, reluctantly, Kara turned her tear-soaked face my way.

"Kara, has your Da always hated the Abominations?" I asked, meeting her gaze.

At first, she didn't respond. Her brows furrowing, Kara quietly admitted, "He never said boo about them. In all those Turns on the islands, he never mentioned them… not once!"

"Don't you find that a bit odd, given what you overheard back at Robinton Cove?"

Unhooking her riding belt, Kara lifted her leg over Plinath's neck ridge and slid down her lifemate's side to stand beside me.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking confused.

"Why would someone suddenly become an Abominator zealot," I explained, laying a gentle hand on Kara's shoulder, "who had never before even discussed the 'thrice-cursed Ancients' devices'?"

Kara didn't answer, but I could see pained confusion in her eyes as she slowly shook her head to signify her lack of understanding.

"Kara, in some of my galaxy-spanning travels," I explained, meeting her gaze squarely, "I encountered a few societies that used psychotropic drugs to alter the mental states of their citizens, making them more aggressive, but also more susceptible to suggestions. Their minds clouded by the drugs they were given, those victims were tricked into following the beliefs of those who were in power."

"Are you saying that's what happened to my Da?" Kara asked.

"It's a possibility," I admitted. "Given what I know about Lord Toric and his hunger for power, I wouldn't put it past him. We'll have to look into it to confirm my suspicions."

"Shards, wasn't Fax bad enough?!" Kara cursed, recalling her teachings back at the Harper Hall. "I've heard Toric wants to rule the whole Southern Continent!"

Nodding, I smiled. "Will you help me?"

Smiling back, Kara hugged me tightly.

"Don't give up on your Da just yet, Kara," I told her, wiping some of her tears away. "Your love for him might be the one thing that will eventually save him."

The first order of business, then, was determining the whereabouts of the missing Eastern Islands exile. Our search was aided by something else besides my blaster that I had brought with me from the Star Service… optical camouflage. When worn, the surrounding light is passed through the outfit, making the wearer invisible to the naked eye. Many times in our first contact missions, Davar, Keymon, and I had used this near perfect form of concealment to study new civilizations without making our presence known and potentially altering the course of that budding civilization in the process.

The first time I showed Kara what it could do, she thought I had simply gone _between_… until I revealed my location by picking up a nearby branch. While the camouflage rendered its wearer invisible to the naked eye, those who wore the optical camo could see a ghostly image of another camo wearer, eliminating the possibility of running into another cloaked individual.

With the help of Master Sebell and other journeymen and women from the Harper Hall, we eventually zeroed in on her Da's location. It was no surprise to anyone to learn that Toric was secretly behind the new Abominators uprising. But we needed undeniable proof to back up my suspicion about Kara's Da and what I believed Toric was doing to the other Abominators. And if the other Lords Holder were going to move against one of their own, they would need all the evidence we could gather of his wrongdoings.

It took about a week of training with Kara to hone her stealth and observation skills. Once I felt we were ready, we flew to a remote location in Southern Hold where we dismounted from our dragons, sent them skyward out of harm's way, then activated the optical camouflage suits we were each wearing.

"You're sure no one can see us?" Kara whispered as we slowly made our way toward the small, secluded hold where our info sources had located Kara's Da at.

"Humans, no," I whispered back as we stole up to one of the buildings in the hold. "Fire lizards and dragons, maybe, since they can potentially see in the infrared range… They might be able to see the heat our bodies give off. The optical camouflage can't conceal that."

"Then, let's keep our fingers crossed," Kara muttered.

We found a small outcropping of rocks and brush and settled in to wait. Moments later, several individuals, including Kara's Da emerged from one of the structures. Given the aromas adrift on the breeze, it was the hold's kitchen / dining facility. Nearly all of them were carrying a bottle of sorts, drinking from it as they walked, their chatter becoming more boisterous as they did.

"We need one of those bottles," I hissed.

"How do we get it?" Kara hissed back.

Hidden in the tree branches above us, Goldie supplied the answer. Just as one of the men set his bottle down to tie a shoe that had come undone, Goldie took off, swooping into the clearing, snaring the bottle deftly in her talons and then vanishing _between._

"Let's go," I whispered, taking Kara's hand.

Just before she disappeared, Goldie sent me and Kara a mental image of where she had gone… the special landing pad back at the teaching hospital used for my unique draconic abilities. Her hand firmly in mind, I took Kara with me _between_, emerging right where Goldie was waiting, chirruping smugly as she held out the bottle she had purloined from the hapless holder.

"Nice work, Goldie," I told her, switching off my optical camouflage and taking the bottle from her.

"Now what?" Kara asked as she switched off her own camo.

"We find out what's in here," I replied, eyeing the fluid contents closely.

Once inside the hospital, a few gawking eyes following Kara and I… and our unusual attire… we made our way to the med lab and placed the bottle on the scanner pedestal. Almost immediately, the data screen lit up, highlighting several of the chemical constituents in the fluid makeup.

"Damn that man!" I muttered, recognizing the chemicals.

"What is it?" Kara asked, laying a hand on my arm.

"What I suspected," I growled, tapping several of the lines on the screen. "Psychotropics."

"You're certain?" Ryeena asked as she and Moreta joined us in the lab.

"No doubt," I replied, fighting to keep my anger under control. "Toric… or his men… are using psychotropics on their followers to brainwash them into the new Abominators."

"Given what I've learned of this Toric you mentioned," Moreta commented, closely eyeing the scan results, "he's worse than that Fax from Ruatha I learned about."

"The man has designs on ruling the whole Southern Continent," Ryeena spat, pounding the countertop in frustration. "Shards, he might even be aiming to rule all of Pern!"

"First things first," I commented, taking the bottle off the scanner. "We need to figure out where the psychotropics are coming from. Is it grown locally or is Toric importing it from somewhere else."

"Master Idarolan may be able to help with that," Moreta responded. "He's proud of his craft."

"Yeah, and he deals with those who bring dishonor on his craft with a heavy hand," Ryeena chuckled. "We saw that during the Exiles crisis."

"Once we have that problem dealt with," I said, looking straight at Kara, "we figure out how to rescue your Da."

Smiling, a tear of gratitude sliding down her cheek, Kara gave me a hug.

"I don't want you to get your hopes up, Kara," I cautioned her. "Maybe he's under the influence of the psychotropics, maybe not. We can't rule out the possibility that he joined the Abominators by choice, choosing to side with them after the debacle he and the other raiders experienced during the Exiles crisis."

"I know," she sniffed, wiping away more tears. "But I have to try to get through to him."

Smiling, nodding, I returned Kara's hug, praying that her love of her Da was enough to get through to him.

Chapter 7 - A New Plan Of Attack (Elli's P.O.V.)

Unable to locate Kara, I returned dejectedly to Robinton Cove to find that Dana had found her. When I reached over to give her a hug, she gently pushed me away.

"I'm okay, Elli," she sniffed. "I have a plan of attack. Dana told me about psychotropic drugs, and she thinks that Toric is infecting people with them to brainwash them into becoming the new Abominators. We might be able to save the situation."

"But can those kinds of drugs cause you to kill someone?" I asked doubtfully. "Your da is wanted for chopping someone's head off, remember?"

"That might not have been him," Dana said. "It might've been Toric who framed her da. He might have taken her da to a safe location and abandoned him there so that he could renew his campaign against AIVAS and his monopoly of the Southern Continent. Toric believes in hard work, and we offer laziness in his way of thinking because of our newfangled technology."

"He's no Lord Holder," I spat, still depressed that Kara wouldn't let me help her. "He's a dictator!"

"What's a dictator?" asked Ryeena.

"A dictator is a leader who basically controls his or her subjects. Adolf Hitler was a classic example of a dictator, as was Josef Stalin. Napoleon Bonaparte was classified as an Emperor, but he was really a dictator. Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, Zoe Ul Huk, Mao Tze Tung, the list goes on and on!"

"You can add Fax to that list," Moreta chimed in. "From what I heard he massacred the Lord Holder of Ruatha and his family to gain the power of that Hold. He had seven holds at one point, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did," said Ryeena. "I'll have to research on the others, though. I'll take Sylene now and go consult AIVAS."

And with that, she left the room.

"I agree with you wholeheartedly that Toric's a dictator," Dana said feelingly, "but we can't prove it. We need to talk to some of his holders, see how he treats them."

"You could ask his own sons," Kylara said, walking into the room, her hands bloody from changing dressings. "Besic in particular. He literally kicks him around like he's a soccer ball! He labels him and the twins as being useless."

"And how would you know that?" Dana and I demanded in concert.

"I listen," she said, "something I should have done before I lost Prideth, but I was too busy trying for world domination myself to care what anyone else said or did unless I thought they were plotting against me."

"What does Ramala think?" I asked her.

"She tries to calm him down, but she still has no clue of his true ambitions. Thank the First Shell he's stuck to only one wife though, but I don't think he feels an ounce of love for her. She's just another tool in his grand scheme."

"That's sad, considering she's clearly devoted to him," I said. "No man is worth your pain and suffering. I suffered because of a man for nine years, and that led absolutely nowhere. I vowed I'd never date again, but then Chlorith mated, and that put an end to that."

I gazed around wistfully for my weyrmate, but of course I couldn't see where he'd gotten to so that was useless. He'd be very instrumental in bringing down Toric. I remembered how he'd slit Toric's throat in my reality before we met Dana. But somehow, when our realities merged, whoever had died in one reality but did not in the other was brought back to life. Therefore, we had D'ram, R'mart, Bedella, and Toric back. The first three I was glad about, but Toric was a different case entirely. He needed to go, and he needed to go right now! If he was brainwashing people with the help of psychotropic drugs, he was no better than D'lan had been. It was he who would crash the Yuletide celebrations, not Kara's da. If Kara's da could be saved, Kara should be the one to do it. But if he had murdered that guard, he should still pay for his crime. Mental illness, whether natural or brought on by chemicals, was no excuse for committing heinous crimes.

I didn't like to tell Kara so, but she must have seen it in my face, because she said, "My da did not kill that guard. I guarantee it!"

"Too bad we don't have crime labs and autopsy here on Pern," I said. "Then we could get the DNA off the guard's body and compare it with your da's and Toric's."

"We can still do that if we could find the murder weapon," said Dana. "I'm guessing he took it with him, though."

"Scorch it!" I shouted. "How're we gonna prove Toric's behind it? Kylara's information might be valid, but unless we get a recording of it, it's hearsay. No one uses hearsay in any court of law."

"Acknowledged," Dana agreed. "Kylara, I want you to go to the Southern Hold and seduce Toric. While you're in bed with him, wear this pin. It's a micro cassette recorder. Remove the tape from the pin and place it in this device" — she handed Kylara a real micro cassette player—"and it should play for you unless the batteries are dead. Let me check."

"I haven't seen one of those in decades!" I cried. "The 80s called and said they want their technology back!"

"I could say the same thing about your regular cassette players," Dana muttered.

"Shut up," I fired back, grinning.

"I mean, what can you do with a micro cassette, whereas regular cassettes can go just about anywhere, in regular tape players or in boomboxes that have radio, cassette, and CD players in them. I don't use CD's anymore, because I can go on YouTube or Amazon for my music. At least I could when I was on Earth, and now I use AIVAS of course. But I still use tapes because I don't know how else I can make and store memories. Tapes are my photos. I can go through my tapes like you'd go through a photo album."

"The printing press is not yet capable of using Bluetooth," Dana reminded me.

"Okay, so you look at pictures on your phone. We gotta get that set up so that those printers accept Bluetooth, so we can print out things from our phones and computers."

"We're working on it, but Tagetarl's dubious about the whole thing," Dana reminded me.

I sighed gustily, letting the matter rest.

"Won't Ramala be upset if I seduced Toric?" asked Kylara, who was never conscientious about that kind of thing before.

She really had changed, but I knew she could remember how to revert if she needed to. Prideth probably wouldn't like it, but we needed to get proof of Toric's plans, and he must have thought Ramala was too weak to confide in. She was the kind of person who would not care what you did, as long as it did not affect her. To say she was passive was a great understatement. She was Toric's polar opposite.

_Perhaps she supplied him with the chemicals to make the drugs without even knowing what they were_, I thought.

I knew the right person to question him would be Kylara. He was 63, only four Turns older than her 59. He wouldn't have any qualms about taking her to bed with him if she pretended to be just as ambitious and domineering as she used to be. She had even thought of overthrowing Lessa once, an idea she deeply regretted now. She had hated life in the Southern Weyr, but only because she didn't think it was a proper Weyr, and she hated the heat and being so isolated from everyone else on Pern. I knew all this, because she had tearfully told me of her plans before she'd lost her queen. I reached over to give her a hug instead of Kara.

"Remember, when he's asleep, raid his stores and see if you can come across a bottle like this."

Dana held up the bottle she'd pilfered off the holder containing the chemical makeup for the psychotropic drugs.

"I want a full report back. Just think of it this way. Think of it as you're dominating the most dominant Lord Holder on Pern."

Chapter 8 – Building The Case (Dana's P.O.V.)

Toric was no one's fool. He was brilliant, ambitious, even ruthless. If he was indeed behind the resurgence of the Abominators, we were going to have to stay several steps ahead of him in uncovering the truth.

Sending Kylara to Southern Hold was part of the plan. There was a small chance he would let his guard down around someone who had once been tied to Meron. Still, there was a risk of Toric figuring it out.

"Find out what you can, Kylara," Elli directed her, "but for Shards sake, don't put your life at risk. Prideth needs you hail and whole."

"I'll be careful," Kylara replied, giving Elli a hug for emphasis.

As a ruse, we made it appear as though Prideth had reinjured some of her surgeries and had to be grounded at the teaching hospital at Robinton Cove in order to facilitate her recovery. Moreta was even placed in charge of her care, lending credibility to the deception.

Remembering our earlier conversation about Toric's son, Besic, I paid Southern Hold another visit… under cover of my optical camouflage. Unseen, I moved about the Hold, surreptitiously following Toric until he led me to his son. Kylara's description of the man proved to be spot on. While he was a hard worker, doing his best to accomplish the tasks he was set, it was never good enough for his father. There were bruises on Besic's face and arms, a fact I documented on the minicam I had brought with me. I even had the good fortune to catch Toric striking Besic with a steel rod his son had dropped when transferring the load to the local smith's shop.

This was all well and good, but it wouldn't be enough on its own to sway the other Lords Holder to take action. I had to find more incriminating evidence that could bring Toric down. So, I decided to focus on finding holders living in Southern who were being mistreated by Toric. There were plenty of disgruntled Southerners, but nothing that could be interpreted as criminal intent by Toric. Clearly, the man was very careful not to do anything overtly wrong.

Still, the grievances voiced by his holders, presented together, could be used as pressure on Toric. My instincts were warning me that I was missing something. Those same instincts had time and again saved Keymon, Davar, and I from certain catastrophe on our first contactor missions. I wasn't seeing the whole picture… yet. But something kept telling me I was getting closer.

The breakthrough came quite by accident as I was listening to some of the complaints the holders voiced against Toric. Seems the Lord Holder was showing interest in the reemergence of the sled power cells. But why? He devoutly avoided the Abominations like the plague, refusing to use any of the technological advances Master Fandarel and the others had been reintroducing to the rest of Pern. So why the out of character behavior?

"That is weird!" Elli agreed when I returned to Robinton Cove to discuss what I had found.

"What could he possibly do with power cells that only work with the sleds?" Ryeena wondered, also confused.

"Wait, sleds did you say?" Rill interrupted.

"Yeah, why?" I asked.

"It may be nothing," Rill replied, shrugging. "It's just that I've seen quite a few individuals at Landing going over the instructional videos and lessons on how to pilot the sleds!"

"Ancestors!" I hissed, chills shooting up and down my spine.

"Dana, what is it?" Elli asked, laying a hand on my arm.

"Do we know which holds those individuals are from?" I whispered, my instincts screaming in my ears.

"Should be easy enough to check," Ryeena shrugged. "Why?"

"If any of those individuals are part of the Abominators," I whispered, my face I know turning pale, "what better way to crash the Yuletide celebrations than by using the sleds to crash into the crowds that will be gathered together? Hundreds could be hurt, even killed!"

"Shards and shells!" Rill gasped.

"By the First Egg!" Moreta whispered.

"Jesus H. Christ!" Elli spluttered.

The Exiles Crisis had barely been avoided. This wouldn't be nearly as catastrophic, but the loss of life would still be devastating. Just the impact of the sleds into the crowds would cause significant injury and loss of life. If the sleds also exploded on impact, the death toll and destruction would be heart-wrenchingly magnified. We really had to work fast now if we were to save the celebration… and Pern!

Chapter 9 - A Plot Uncovered (Elli's P.O.V.)

"We need to call a meeting of all the Lords Holder and Weyrleaders to put Toric on Trial. If we tell him there's an emergency conclave, he'll definitely make his presence known," I said angrily.

I glared all around the room. I had a disconcerting habit of taking my anger out on people, rather than just expressing it. I knew it and was trying to avoid it in this crisis, but I was failing miserably.

"It's 9/11 all over again! He could crash into the crowds, or he could actually try to destroy the holds, because I've heard the northern Gathers will be held indoors due to the weather."

"I hadn't thought of that," Dana said thoughtfully. "He may be plotting revenge on the other Lord Holders and Weyrleaders for restricting him to such a small territory. We should've known something like this would happen."

"On Christmas Day!" I cried, breaking into tears. "How can anyone be so crass as to do something like this on Christmas Day?"

"You don't know Toric!" Dana said menacingly. "He'll stop at nothing to get what he wants."

"Sort of like me, huh?" I said wryly.

"Not at all like you," Dana replied. "You won't kill yourself because you don't have what you want. If your thinking is correct, he might end up killing himself in the crash."

"And he'll go for Benden Weyr if I know Toric," I said fervently. "Lessa was the one who set the boundaries on what he could and couldn't hold. He's had a grudge against her since the 15th Turn of this Pass, in AIVAS adjusted timeline, 2537. That's a long time to fester a grudge."

"He's very cunning and crafty," Kylara reported. "I had to go to bed with him three nights in a row before he confessed his plans to me. I made it plain that I would be a much better bedpartner than Ramala, because I understood him, whereas she was a passive bitch who was so stupid she couldn't add 1+1=2."

"That's pretty harsh, Kylara," I smiled. "I hope she didn't hear you."

"She didn't," Kylara replied. "I got her out of the way before I could say such horrible things about her. Don't worry, I didn't kill her. I just drugged her up with fellis Juice and put her in one of the guest rooms. She didn't wake up till afternoon with all the fellis I gave her, and by then, Toric was singing like a bird! I got it all on tape too, but I think I drained the battery out of that pin, Dana. It might sound garbled near the end. He talked for so long that neither of us got any sleep those three nights. Even so, he put himself and me to work right away in the morning as though nothing were going on. I told him everything I told Meron."—She blinked at the memory.—"I told him how I wanted more power, that being a senior Weyrwoman of an improper makeshift Weyr in the South did not suit me. Only this time, I told him that being an apprentice healer in a trumped-up hospital didn't suit me. I told him I was too old to learn all this new medical technology, and that since I was basically dropped into a new Pern that I had been unaware of for the past 30 Turns, I wanted none of it. I basically told him I wanted to be an Abominator like him. When he heard that, he sang to me—oh did he ever sing to me. I got the tapes to prove it. Sound quality might be bad coming from a micro cassette player, but I hope you'll get the jist of it."

Kylara put the tape into the tiny tape player and hit play. To all our surprise but Dana's, the sound was crystal clear. We might have been listening through an AIVAS device, or she might have just been in the room with us.

"I didn't record the sex of course, but I recorded all the talking."

"The dragonriders have their own Weyrs; they have no right to the Southern Continent!" Toric was bellowing on the tape player's minute speaker. "I was the first person who settled here, I was the one who established this hold! It's my birthright!"

"And how are you looking to expand, Toric?" Kylara's voice came out in a sensuous purr.

She might have been fondling him in places only Ramala should have touched, but I wasn't sure of that. I didn't have the courage to ask her what she was doing while she talked to him, but she was probably doing something because he wasn't pacing as he did characteristically whenever he was pissed off.

"You're the only dragonrider who belongs in the South," Toric said much more gently. I had never heard him speak gently before. "You were robbed of 30 Turns of your life, and suddenly you have to change to adapt. If I'm not gonna change my life, you shouldn't have to either! I'll ditch Ramala somehow and go with you, Kylara. We belong together! We both crave world domination, and together, we'll have it!"

Chlorith bugled from the heights. She could sense the anger rising in me, and she was responding to it, even though she didn't know the cause of it yet.

"I'm gonna use their technology against them," Toric stoutly declared on the tape. "I'm gonna fly those sleds into each and every one of their Holds and destroy them on this Gather Day they've set up. Every single Hold, Crafthall, and Weyr are having Gathers on the 22nd of the 13th month, and I'm gonna destroy each and every one of them for not giving me my birthright! With all the drugs I gave my new Abominators, they'll be all too willing to help. The fact that they shouldn't even be driving these contraptions while under the influence makes it only better! If we can't have our old Pern back, we'll die trying!"

I stopped the tape. I'd heard all I needed to. Tears were flooding silently down my face. I hadn't been so angry since I had to be held in quarantine at Honshu because the Abominators were going to kill us. That was back in my reality before I met Dana.

"Are they planning on using all the sleds?" asked Dana, her voice trembling.

"All they can get their hands on!" replied Kylara. "They'll fly one sled to pick up others and split up once they get them. Then they'll fly one or two sleds to each major Hold, Weyr, and Crafthall, and slam into the buildings and kill everyone inside!"

"What are we gonna do?" I asked, still weeping.

"I'll go after him!" said a new voice. "I'll kill him as I did the first time!"

"G'narish, how're you gonna do that?" My tears of anger turned to tears of fear. "He'll kill you first! You're a blatant obstruction to his goal!"

"He really should be put on trial," Dana said firmly. "If he's not put on trial, you'd be put on trial for obstruction of justice."

"HE needs to die!" G'narish roared! "My weyrmate's in direct jeopardy of her life! If he doesn't go to Benden first, he'll hit Robinton Cove. All the Abominations are here. I must protect all of you, especially my Elli."

"I know," Dana said kindly; "but if we can get him on trial before that, wouldn't we be saving a whole bunch of lives then?"

"You're probably right," G'narish argued uncharacteristically, "but what if the other Lords and Weyrleaders don't agree it's enough to charge him? They could say it's all hearsay."

"It's all on tape," Dana argued.

"But in most places on Earth, it's against the law to give recorded evidence if one of the people didn't know they were being recorded," I said.

"But this isn't Earth, is it?" Dana said secretively. "There are no laws against recording yet on Pern. Recording devices are so new here that everyone's taking advantage of them, and there have been no laws about invasion of privacy. That evidence can be used in a trial."

I sighed. I had never been a fan of those laws on Earth because I liked to record people as they were rather than setting up a facade for the tape player or the camera.

"Let him go to trial," G'narish said savagely, "but if they sentence him to death, I'll be the one to carry it out!"

Chapter 10 – Pernese Legalese (Dana's P.O.V.)

"This won't be easy," I sighed, glancing about at the others.

"What are you talking about?!" Elli exclaimed. "We got Toric by the balls!"

"What's wrong, Dana?" Rill wondered, laying a hand on my shoulder.

"Toric's no fool," I muttered, my gaze sweeping the room. "He didn't get where he is today by being stupid. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he's gone over the original charter…"

"The one the original colonists used?" Moreta asked.

I nodded. "And Toric has undoubtedly heard the stories about where I came from. He'll know that I was heavily influenced by the laws of the FSP. He can reasonably conclude that my actions would be guided by my understanding of those laws."

"But this is Pern!" Elli argued, pounding the table with her cane. "Not the FSP. The laws here are different!"

"Granted," I had to admit, "but even here, there are laws about unreasonable search and seizure and what a private citizen can and can't do to prove a crime was committed."

"What are you saying?" G'narish growled, his face flushing with anger.

"It's illegal to secretly record any oral, telephonic or electronic communication that is reasonably expected to be private," I replied, my expression grim.

"What?!" Elli exclaimed.

"However," I went on, "there is a loophole to that restriction."

"Go on," Rill urged, leaning closer.

"The biggest one is the 'one-party consent' rule," I explained, sweeping the room with my gaze. "It states that you can record people secretly if at least one person in the conversation consents to the recording."

"Meaning me," Kylara jumped in.

I nodded. "Since you agreed to the recording, that evidence becomes admissible. The other caveat would be if the person recording is authorized by law to do it… like police with a warrant."

"What are police?" Ryeena wondered, not familiar with the term.

"Individuals who are empowered to enforce the laws," I replied. "And who on Pern has that power?"

For several seconds, no one spoke. Then,…

"The Lords Holder!" Rill exclaimed, realizing the truth. "By the First Egg!"

"Another aspect we have to consider is where the recordings take place," I went on.

"What's that got to do with any of this?" Moreta wondered.

"The law promises a 'reasonable expectation' of privacy," I responded. "This is where the location of the recording becomes important. A closed-off bedroom in a private home is a reasonable place to expect privacy, so taping there can be risky, even with the power of one-party consent."

"Shaffit!" G'narish cursed, pounding his fist on the table.

"Then all that stuff we recorded Toric saying…" Kylara whimpered, clearly upset, "we can't use it?!"

"That recording is just one piece of the puzzle," I assured her, giving her hand a squeeze. "Without the courage you showed, Kylara, we wouldn't have it. It can be used to establish a pattern of behavior in Toric, increasing the likelihood the Lords Holder will convict him."

"We also have the evidence I gathered at Southern Hold," I went on, my expression grim. "The video of Toric beating Besic with the steel rod, the conversations I recorded of the holders in Southern talking about Toric's interest in the power cells for the sleds, Rill's report of the increased activity at Landing of people learning how to fly the sleds. They're all key elements to the evidence we can present to the Lords Holder. And, since what I gathered at Southern Hold was recorded in public places, the 'reasonable expectation of privacy' doesn't apply. That evidence is definitely admissible in court."

"Then, let's get this party started!" Elli exclaimed, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

"Not yet," I argued.

"Why the hell not?!" G'narish exclaimed, coming to his weyrmate's defense.

"Those studying the sled tutorials at Landing might be legitimate Pernese citizens interested in the craft," I explained, trying to ease the anger I felt. "Before we take all this to the Lords Holder, we need to ascertain if any of those individuals are somehow involved with Toric and the resurgent Abominators."

"But we're running out of time!" Elli argued. "The celebrations for Yuletide begin in just over two sevendays!"

"Believe me, Elli, I want him as bad as you do," I grunted, giving her hands a gentle squeeze. "If we don't do this absolutely perfect when we present the evidence to the Lords Holder, Toric will slip through our fingers like a tunnel snake, leaving the rest of Pern exposed to him and his Abominators. We can't afford to screw this up."

"Okay," Elli relented, some of her anger fading. "Where do we go now?"

"Back to Fort Hold," I explained. "Given what we know about Toric, we can enlist Groghe's help and that of the Harper Hall in gathering further evidence against Toric."

"A warrant!" Elli gasped, suddenly grasping where this was headed. "Lord Groghe, as one of those responsible for maintaining the law, can issue warrants to aid the search!"

"And Master Sebell's harpers can gather intel from all the Holds, Halls, and Weyrs," Moreta chimed in, her own expression eager, "allowing us to draw the noose around Toric tighter and tighter!"

"Then, what are we waiting for?" Elli gleefully declared, taking off at a run, her cane swinging wildly in front of her as she headed off to her waiting dragon.

At Fort Hold, once we revealed what we had learned about Toric and my suspicions about what the Southern Lord Holder was planning, Groghe's face turned beet red with rage.

"As much as I'd like to help, Dana, my hands are tied," he muttered.

"What are you saying?" Elli gasped, clearly not expecting this.

"The Lords Holder would conclude Lord Groghe would not be impartial in this case," I explained. "After all, Kara's Da escaped because someone in his hold killed the man's guard, beheading him, before setting Kara's Da free."

"We can enlist Lord Larad to provide the warrants," Groghe suggested. "I trust the man. He can help us."

"Sebell?" I asked, turning to the Masterharper. "Can you help us?"

He nodded. "I've already been getting reports from the other Harpers. Once we have the warrants from Lord Larad, we can get right to work gathering all the evidence we'll need to put an end to Toric and his plans for Pern."

Groghe made good use of the satphone I'd given him, ringing up Lord Larad of Telgar Hold. Once the situation was explained to him, he quite willingly issued all the warrants Sebell and his Harpers would need. With just three days remaining until the Yuletide celebration was set to begin, a grand conclave of the Lords Holder was called to review the evidence gathered regarding Toric, the resurgent Abominators, and their plans to use the sleds to destroy the upcoming celebrations. Time and again through the entire proceedings, Toric tried to use what he'd learned from the original colonists' charter to try and dismiss the mountain of evidence that had been gathered against him. And with each failure, Toric became even more enraged.

He tried to have the confession with Kylara thrown out citing privacy concerns but was overruled because Kylara had consented to the recording. He tried to have the evidence of him beating Besic dismissed but was overruled because that had been recorded out in the open in a public place. Master Oldive, with the help of several of Sebell's harpers, was able to isolate the source of the psychotropic drugs Toric was feeding his Abominators. Master Idarolan lowered the boom on those of his craft who had transported the drugs to Southern Hold, adding to Toric's fury. And between Rill, Piemur, D'ram, and L'tol, they were able to identify those who had been studying the sled piloting tutorials that were also in league with Toric's Abominators. The man looked like a volcano about to blow its top.

"Don't you fools get it?!" he raged, having to be restrained by several bailiffs. "I'm doing this to save you! The Abominations have corrupted your souls, steering you away from the true path of Pern!"

"And you are the only one who can see that path, eh?" Lord Toronas grunted. "In all the Turns I've had the misfortune to know you, Toric, you have only sought your own ends, abusing your holders, and expanding your hold to a size no reasonable man can support or control."

"The Southern Continent is mine by right!" Toric raged. "I was first to hold there. I was the one who developed it, increased its size, helped it profit."

"On the backs of your poor holders," Weyrleader F'lar argued. "You have abused your power as Lord Holder, Toric. This conclave was convened to see you removed, stripped of your possessions, and, if warranted, to punish you for your crimes."

"The only crime committed here, Weyrleader," Toric sneered, shaking free of the bailiffs, "was the day you and your lot awoke that damned machine."

"AIVAS," Sebell correctly deduced.

"From that moment, Pern changed!" Toric raged, shaking his fist at the Lords Holder. "From that moment, all of you became corrupt, weakened by the convenience all this new… technology offered. You think you lot are worthy of pronouncing judgment on me? Your own corrupt souls proves you are unfit, not me."

"I think we've heard enough from you, Toric," Lord Larad spoke, signaling the bailiffs. "Take him away."

As the men approached, Toric spun, seizing the belt knife from one of the bailiffs, decking him with a powerful blow of his fist. The other he slashed across the gut before launching himself off the table in front of him… and directly at the assembled Lords Holder!

There was a loud bark of sound… and Toric went sailing backwards, crashing heavily into the chairs behind the table he had just leaped off of.

"I'm with Lord Larad, Toric," I quietly spoke as I reholstered my blaster. "We've heard enough."

Several other muscular bailiffs secured the unconscious Southern Lord Holder and carried him away, heavily shackled. While Ryeena saw to the bailiff Toric had decked, I used my portable first aid kit to patch up the wound in the other.

"A remarkable device," Larad commented, eyeing my weapon. "Quite effective. I, for one, am glad you decided to bring it with you today."

"What happens now?" I asked, helping the wounded bailiff to his feet.

"Now we consider the evidence presented here today," Lord Toronas spoke, "and decide what sort of punishment Toric deserves."

"Dana and I will have to recuse ourselves," Lord Groghe spoke, coming up beside me. "Neither of us can claim to be impartial where Toric's concerned."

"Understandable," Larad agreed. "We'll try not to keep the two of you waiting too long."

"Take what time you need, Lord Larad," I said, Ryeena coming up on one side, Kara on the other. "See to it that justice is properly done."

With a final nod, Larad and the others retired to their chambers to consider their verdict. Hopefully, it would be over before the Yuletide celebrations were slated to start in just three more days.

Chapter 11 - One More Confession (Elli's P.O.V.)

"Before we deliver this verdict, I had another confession for you!" said a guard who had just come back from Toric's cell in the bowels of the hold. "I have it on tape!"

We distinctly heard him press the rewind button, let it go for a few seconds, then release it by way of the stop button. He had pilfered Dana's minirecorder without her knowledge, but because of the one-party consent law, the recording would have been admissible in court had it been made before trial.

"We can't be held impartial," I said. "Dana and I are abominations, remember? We produced even more technology into this society than AIVAS did."

"And I can't do anything either, because I'm the weyrmate of one of the so-called abominations," added G'narish ruefully.

"Who can hear it then?" demanded the guard in desperation.

"Take it in there," I pointed to the doorway of the chamber where the deliberations were being held.

Usually they say that deliberations must be made when all the evidence is heard, but since he didn't make this final confession after he was already put away, they made a concession for it. I could hear gasps as the tape played, but I could not hear what was on the tape.

"If only there were speakers in that room!" I said. "I'd've liked to hear what he had to say."

Very quickly afterward they called us all in.

"Has the jury come up with a verdict?" I asked.

"What's a jury?" hissed Ryeena.

"A jury is a group of 12 impartial men and women who hear the evidence of a trial and deliver the verdict." I told her. "I think we have more than 12 in there, but I hope you get the point."

Ryeena nodded, but then remembered I couldn't see her and whispered, "I do."

"We have," said Jaxom, the spokesperson for the Lords Holder. "We, the Lords Holder of Pern find the defendants guilty on all counts, as well as a new count that was not discussed at trial but which was added in the middle of deliberations."

"Objection, that's not fair!" Toric cried. "You can't charge me with something new in the middle of deliberations!"

"Shut up!" shouted Lord Groghe. "You're already in trouble, what's one more change?"

"We the Lords Holder of Pern find the defendant guilty on the count of first degree murder!" cried Jaxom over the deposed Lord Toric.

"What?" Toric cried, outraged. "I never killed anybody!"

"You beheaded a guard so that Weyrwoman Kara's father could escape and get on with learning how to pilot one of the sleds that would crash into the Yuletide celebrations."

"And what is your evidence for that?" Toric bellowed.

Jaxom took the tape player from the guard who had recorded the tape and played it back.

"That should be ruled as inadmissible!" Toric screamed. "I didn't give my consent to be recorded!"

"One party consent law, and you lost your rights when you were taken away."

"We the Lords Holder of Pern sentence Toric to death!" Jaxom called to the room at large. "The punishment must fit the crime and should be carried out immediately! Who wants him?"

"I thought you of all people would want to save me, Jaxom, for my sister's sake!" Toric was pleading now.

"I did until I heard that confession and how happy about it you sounded. That guard did nothing to you, and the way you killed him was so grisly that Lord Groghe could not even be part of the case. You framed Weyrwoman Kara's da for the crime. You said so on this tape! You are a murderer, and murderers should get the death penalty! I want you to die the same way that guard died!"

"Who wants him?" Jaxom repeated to the crowd.

Chaos ensued as the whole crowd charged toward Toric, belt knives out and unsheathed.

"I'll do it!" cried the guard who had recorded Toric's confession. "This requires a sword, and that guard he killed was my brother!"

Before anyone could stop him on the count of impartiality, the guard unsheathed his sword and swung toward Toric in one fluid motion. Toric tried to parry the blow, but the guard was too quick for him. The next thing we knew, Toric was on the floor — his head to the left, his body to the right. Blood spewed from the hole in his neck where his head had been. People moved forward to carry the body and head away and clean up the mess on the floor. It stank of blood and excrement from when he had died. Being one of the only two people who didn't see it happen, (Tiffany being the other person), we didn't understand what all the screaming was about. The Lords Holder had seen it often enough, but the common folk who had come to view the trial and sentencing had not seen it much before. In none of the Records was there ever a public execution held on Pern. They might be too traumatized to celebrate in three days.

"You should've waited until the audience was gone," Jaxom reprimanded the guard. "Now people won't want to go to the Gather in three days."

"Now that he's dead, there can actually be a Gather," the guard argued. "Every single Hold, Hall, and Weyr are having Gathers to celebrate Christmas. Toric could've escaped and still ruined them."

"But you could've still waited until Lord Larad adjourned court," Jaxom fired back.

"It's already done; no point in arguing about it now," I said dejectedly. "If word of this gets out, and it will, there'll be no Gathers three days hence."

"Yes, there will!" Dana cried passionately, trying to cheer me up.

I hadn't seen it happen but I had heard the slash of the sword as it hit home, so there was no mistaking what he'd done.

"By doing what he did he saved a million lives!" Dana cried passionately. "Do you have any idea how much damage those sleds could do if they crash into holds? Those stone walls could generate even more sparks than the electricity in those power cells. They could be counter-productive and bounce off each other, creating even more sparks. Do you have any idea what kind of fire that could generate? That could be more destructive than an unchecked Threadfall, and that wouldn't just happen in one place. That would've happened everywhere! The whole planet could've been destroyed by the effects of such explosions!"

"Yes, we understand, but it still could've been done in private," Jaxom contradicted.

"I wanted everyone to be assured that they would be safe and seeing is believing," the guard mumbled.

"We did sentence him to death," Jaxom sighed. "We should've specified that the deed be done privately. We should've said immediately after adjournment, instead of just plain immediately."

"So, are we still having Gather celebrations on the 22nd?" I asked wistfully.

"Of course we are!" Dana cried impatiently. "We're starting a new tradition on Pern and awakening an old tradition from Earth. Let's sing some carols before we adjourn court."

"Let's adjourn now and stay behind to sing Christmas carols," Larad corrected.

_Silent night, holy night,_

_All is calm, all is bright! ..._

The song was being sung before Larad struck his gavel to adjourn court, but the voices I heard singing were in my head. I turn my head first toward Tiffany, tapping her on the shoulder, then toward Dana to ask them if they were hearing the song, too. The choir was so beautiful that it took my breath away. I couldn't sing along; it would ruin the beauty of the song, and most of the people in the courtroom would think I was singing a solo and starting in the middle of the song.

"I think the dragons have already started," Dana smiled.

"Court is adjourned." Larad said, striking his gavel.

"What do you mean the dragons have already started?" he asked Dana.

"They're singing 'Silent Night'," she laughed.

"And it's exquisite!" I breathed, unwilling to use my voice.

"Like what you'd hear at the Harper Hall?" asked Larad skeptically.

"Better," said G'narish, who was in tears.

Usually he only heard Gyarmath, but when the dragons sang in chorus, he heard every single one of them.

"Do you need a hug?" I whispered, still unwilling to speak aloud for the beauty of the song.

G'narish reached his arms out to me. I walked right into them as I always did whenever there was a beautiful song in progress. I always had to hold him during "Keymon's Song" too.

"I wonder if the Kendite had a Christmas song?" I asked Dana over G'narish's shoulder.

"No, Christmas is a human tradition," Dana said ruefully. "I translated several Christmas carols into Kenditese though. Perhaps I should teach the dragons the Kendite version of 'Silent Night'."

"Sing it again!" G'narish begged. "Sing it again!"

"So you can weep all over me?" I asked wryly.

"Sometimes you need a good cry," he said. "I'm just so relieved the abomination crisis is over."

"It's not over yet," I said. "We gotta round up his followers and put them in holding cells until the psychotropic drugs wear off. Kara's da is the most important as he's the most lethal. Toric really used him. I wonder just how drugged up he is. Or perhaps he's not drugged up and doing all this of his own volition."

"We'll never know until we find him," Dana said ruefully. "I located him on my cloaking device, but I'll have to use it again to make sure it hasn't changed. Come on, girls."

Tiffany, Ryeena, Kara, Kylara, and I followed Dana out of the room. We could hear the untrained voices begin "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree" as we left.

Chapter 12 – A Reborn Tradition (Dana's P.O.V.)

The death of Toric was going to be problematic, especially so close to the upcoming Yuletide celebration Gathers. No one would dispute that the man was ruthless in his pursuit of power. At the same time, he did manage to maintain a semblance of control over the lands he held. That was now all thrown into a waste basket. Without Toric there to reign in trouble, I had no doubt there would soon be a flood of Northern holders heading to the Southern continent to stake their claims to lands once controlled by Toric.

"Is there anyone who can take over as Lord Holder of Southern?" I asked the Lords Holder once the trial was over.

"His only child is Besic," Toronas replied, "but he is nothing like his father. He would never survive as Lord Holder of Southern."

"Not in its current size," I agreed, "but what if the Hold was scaled back… and allow other Holders to assume the lands that would be vacated?"

"Hmm, a possibility," Larad mused, rubbing his chin. "Are there any relatives of Toric who might challenge Besic's assumption of Southern?"

"None that would dare while the man was still alive," Lord Asgenar sighed. "Now? Who knows?"

"It could mean civil unrest in Southern without strong leadership," Lord Kashman complained.

"Then perhaps a stewardship for Southern Hold," Elli suggested. "Like L'tol did for Ruatha until Jaxom was confirmed as Lord Holder."

"Then what about D'ram?" I offered. "He is well known by the people of Pern and can be trusted to steward Southern Hold properly until a new Southern Lord Holder can be appointed."

"Good man D'ram," Lord Groghe agreed, thumping me on the shoulder. "I second the appointment of D'ram as steward of Southern Hold until such time as a new Southern Lord Holder is appointed."

"So be it," Lord Larad declared, grinning in approval. "We'll send word immediately about his appointment."

"Lord Groghe, would you be kind enough to inform D'ram of his change in status?" I asked. "As he is also friends with the former Lord Warder L'tol, he can gain valuable knowledge and insight into Hold management from his friend."

"Delighted, Dana!" Groghe chuckled, pulling out his satphone.

D'ram was more than a little surprised by his appointment. L'tol, with his practical experience in Hold management, quickly volunteered to assist the new Lord Warder. In fact, given the reputations of the two men, the Lords Holder decided to appoint both as joint stewards of Southern Hold. Between the two, they were certain Southern Hold would remain viable and stable until the new Southern Lord Holder could be found and appointed.

In the meantime, we had to track down any and all of the people Toric had recruited for his resurgent Abominators. They would have to be examined by healers to determine two things: had they been given any psychotropic drugs, and, if they had, to what extent, if any, their minds had been affected by the psychotropic drugs Toric had been using on them. There was the very real possibility that some of the Abominators had not been drugged into coercion. These were the most dangerous ones because they had chosen to fight against the advances the new technology was bringing to Pern. These were the true zealots, the true fanatics, who would rather stick to the old ways on Pern or die rather than change. Now the question was… into which camp did Kara's Da fall?

We couldn't simply start picking people up willy-nilly for no reason. Therefore, at my request, and with the agreement of the Lords Holder counsel, warrants were issued empowering those who were involved in this delicate task with the justification to perform the arrests.

Under cover of our optical camouflage, Kara and I returned to that small Southern hold where we had first tracked her Da to. To our dismay, he wasn't there any longer. But a half dozen others were. To keep the risk to an absolute minimum, it was decided that I would use my blaster in stun mode to momentarily render the suspects unconscious without harming them. Then, equipped with the hospital's portable scan pads, we could evaluate each individual for the presence of the psychotropic drugs.

"That thing sure is handy," Kara whispered as we approached the half dozen suspects my blaster had rendered unconscious.

"Work fast," I whispered back, whipping out my own scan pad. "They won't stay unconscious long."

Of the six we checked, five showed elevated levels of psychotropic drugs in their system. The sixth, probably one of Toric's original Abominators, was clean of any drugs. With a quick call on my walkie talkie, healer-riders were called in to transport the five back to Robinton Cove for detox and evaluation in the secure wing of the hospital. The sixth was taken by N'ton himself aboard Lioth back to Fort Hold for investigation and possible prosecution.

"Where could my Da be?" Kara wept, heartbroken that her Da had not been here.

"We'll find him, Kara," I assured her. "You're the one who knew him best. Can you think of any place he might've gone?"

"He grew up in Tillek Hold," she recalled, her brows furrowed. "Talked about it constantly. He should've known the Teaching Ballads. Why did he lie to me about Thread?"

"Mistakes were made on both sides of that crisis, Kara," I replied, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "And you were a big help in bringing it to a good conclusion. Do you think your Da would've gone back to Tillek Hold?"

"No," she muttered, shaking her head. "The only family he had were among the Exiles. His parents, my grandma and grandpa, passed away during the exile. He'd have no one in Tillek to go back to."

"So where on Pern would he go where he would feel safe?" I wondered aloud.

As one, Kara and I both gasped, meeting each other's gaze. Just as quickly, we called our dragons to us, taking to the skies of Pern before vanishing _between_.

We emerged in the skies above the islands of the Eastern Sea, directly above the former site of Kara's village. The two of us landed in the same clearing we'd used during the Exiles crisis. As we dismounted, we took note of the lack of activity, the detritus of evacuation and natural causes scattered about the clearing. We also noticed fresh footprints leading off into the jungle. With a silent nod between us, Kara and I activated our optical camouflage and set off in the direction of the footprints.

Off in the distance, we could hear laughter… not the happy kind… this bordered on hysterical. Another disturbing discovery Kara and I made were several of those fluid containers similar to the one we'd taken and had analyzed.

"Traces of psychotropic drugs in this one," I reported, giving the bottle a quick check with my scan pad. "This can't be good."

"Oh, Da!" Kara wept, setting down the bottle she had checked.

"We need to hurry," I urged, taking Kara by the elbow and following the footprints.

The laughter was growing louder, sending chills down my spine. And the words we heard… rambling… disjointed… no clear meaning.

"Holder! Colder!" we both heard. "Bolder! Older!"

"Stay close, Kara," I hissed as we approached the edges of a clearing, more bottles scattered along the path.

As we peered around some shrubbery, we spotted Kara's Da standing in the middle of the clearing, gesturing wildly, another of those cursed bottles in his hand.

Taking another swig, he shook his fist at the skies, shouting, "Ruminate! Cogitate! Defecate! Abominate!"

To my surprise and worry, Kara deactivated her optical camouflage and stepped into the clearing.

"Da?" she called out.

"Kara, be careful!" I warned her, turning my own camouflage off.

Her Da whirled at the sound, his eyes wild, his face contorted with rage. He took another swig from the bottle. Realizing it was empty, he tossed it away.

"Deflater! Traitor!" he roared, staggering somewhat as he pulled out his belt knife.

"Da, it's me!" Kara wailed, taking a step toward him, her arms raised to him.

"Spill! Shrill!" Kara's Da shouted, brandishing the knife. "Hill! Kill!"

"Kara, look out!" I exclaimed, pulling my blaster just as he launched himself at his daughter.

Goldie was faster. She dove out of the sky, slamming her body hard into the side of the man's head, causing him to stagger and fall.

"Da!" Kara sobbed, taking a step in his direction.

"Kara, no!" I urged, grabbing her hand and pulling her back. "He doesn't know it's you! His mind is too clouded by the drugs!"

"We have to help him!" she wept, trying to pull free of my hand.

Goldie appeared at that moment, hovering in front of Kara, her wings beating furiously. Trilling sharply, it was clear she didn't want Kara to go near her Da.

"But…" Kara whimpered, looking from Goldie to her Da then to me.

"We'll do all we can for him, Kara," I assured her, raising my blaster, and firing.

It took two days of careful medical care to flush all the drugs out of Kara's Da's system. He would recover, but only Time would tell how his reason had been affected. Somehow, I knew Kara would do everything she could to help him.

During those two days, the other healer-riders backed up by riders from the other weyrs had been rounding up the last of the resurgent Abominators, nearly two dozen in all. Most had been corrupted by the psychotropic drugs they had been given, understandably confused once their reason had returned to them. The few who remained turned out to be the primary ones Toric had recruited, serving as his subordinates in recruiting… and drugging… the others. Those who had been drugged remained in the secure wing at the hospital for another month, carefully screened by Elli and her psychology team before being released back to their families. For those who had been loyal to Toric, rank and possessions were stripped from them. But rather than suffering through the strains of exile or the ultimate pain of execution, the Lords Holder carefully selected holds that the guilty would be assigned to. They were given the choice to rejoin society and to work off their debt to the people of Pern. If they could do that, in four Turns they would then be awarded small plots of land that they could then hold as their own and work to improve them.

Those days were still well off in the future. In the present, preparations were underway at all the Holds, Halls, and Weyrs of Pern as we celebrated the return of an old Earth tradition… Christmas.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to find the right tree on this planet?!" I complained as the final decorations were being added to the pine tree that had been erected in Honshu Hold. "These aren't native to Pern. I had to scour the entire planet before I finally found a decent size forest of them up around High Reaches Weyr!"

"It's perfect!" Elli replied, inhaling the familiar pine scent the tree gave off.

"I'm just glad we were able to head Toric off and put an end to his plans," G'narish muttered, draping an arm across Elli's shoulders.

"You and me both," Rill sighed. "That was too close."

"Time for presents?" Oriana wondered, bouncing up and down.

"Ooh! Yes! Presents!" Ariana chimed in.

Smiling, chuckling, G'narish and Elli both nodded.

It was a wonderful evening at Honshu, many of the staff from Robinton Cove making the journey to Honshu to share the celebration with us. Dinner that evening was among the best I could remember. Caroling afterward was full throated and expressive, especially when the gathered dragons under Chlorith's careful guidance took us through a rendition of 'Silent Night' we would not soon forget.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" I shouted, raising a glass of good Benden wine in salute.

"Merry Christmas!" the crowd responded back, the dragons bugling from the heights just outside.

It was a merry Christmas, indeed!

Chapter 13 – Aftermath (Elli's P.O.V.)

I decided to play Santa that day for all my friends, as I had a dragon, and now lived at Robinton Cove. As I delivered gifts to Jaxom and his family, I couldn't help but notice a deep sadness in him. At first I thought it was because Sharra was grieving for her brother, but then I realized there was something more personal than that going on. Not wanting to bring up sad subjects on Christmas, I hesitated, but when Jaxom remained noncommittal to my cheerful conversation, I finally made him spill the beans.

"What's going on?" I demanded. "Why are you so upset on Christmas Eve? Perhaps if Ruth would sing to you a Yuletide carol, you'd cheer up."

"No, I wouldn't," Jaxom reluctantly muttered. "Dorse was one of the Abominators who wasn't drugged up."

I knew Dorse was Jaxom's milk brother, but I didn't think they'd had a close relationship.

"He's not worth it, Jaxom," I said kindly. "He never liked you, anyway, so why does it upset you that he was one of Toric's lot?"

"I owe him my life, and now I have to try him, as Ruatha was his original hold."

"Okay, first off, you're not impartial enough to try him!" I said, stomping my foot. "Second of all, he was sent to Southern, so he has no more ties to Ruatha! You don't have to try him at all! That'll be D'ram and L'tol's job. Of course, L'tol might be too partial for that job because he was once Dorse's Lord Holder, but D'ram most certainly won't be, and he's tough when he tries criminals. And you know we can't give him a light sentence of exile, because Dana pretty much outlawed exile as a punishment, and we had to update the original Charter to implement that change. Dorse never murdered anyone like Toric did, so he won't be sentenced to death, but if they've finished that building they've set up in Fort Hold, they can use that as a prison. I think all Holds and Crafthalls should have prisons, as the mines are getting too full of criminals. If push comes to shove, Dorse'll have to work in the mines the rest of his natural-born life, and he'd deserve it after all the trouble he's caused. Chances are he could implicate Toric in all of this, but I don't think he'll have that strong of a case, as he wasn't drugged up when we found him."

Jaxom wiped a tear away from his eye. He sniffed mightily.

"I just wanted to deny it," he muttered thickly. "He was my milk brother, and I had to be grateful to him for sharing his mother's milk with me. Without it, I'd be dead now. I wouldn't have thrived as a baby."

"I bet Dorse did it for that precise reason," I said, hesitant to give Jaxom a hug, as I didn't know whether or not Sharra was near, and I didn't want it to look as though he were cheating on her with me.

_Nonsense!_ Chlorith cried from her position on the heights. _He needs a friend right now, and you've had a strong bond with him ever since he introduced himself back on Earth._

I reached out and gave him a tentative hug. He fell into my arms and sobbed convulsively, unbecoming behavior for a Lord Holder, but he needed to get it out of his system. I held him tightly, rocking him back-and-forth, intoning, "1, 2, 3, 4," repetitively as we swayed together, trying to get his mind off his milk brother on Christmas Eve. Nobody should have to cry on Christmas. Finally, he calmed down and gently pulled away.

"It's been a tough couple of days for us," Jaxom said thickly. "Sharra's been weeping uncontrollably, because she thinks she could've changed her brother if she'd just talked to him, and the children are upset because it was their uncle who was beheaded at the trial, and I've pretty much had to keep Dorse's crimes to myself because everyone else was grieving Toric's loss."

"Do you feel better now?" I asked, almost plaintively.

"A little," Jaxom said, drying his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm just so glad I had someone who understands everything to do with human emotions with whom to let it out."

"Merry Christmas to you, too!" I cried, laughing. "I should keep going to Robinton Cove to leave the rest of my gifts and spend a little time with my Raeana at Igen. She couldn't join the celebrations at Honshu because she's senior Weyrwoman and has to take charge of the gather celebrations there. Calentia still won't go back to Igen because of all the bad memories there, but we always throw her mating flights open in case she finds someone else to love. She still pushes everyone who tries to mate with her away. She's built walls around herself. If Raeana can get away for a little while today, she'd like to celebrate with her sister, but she's so busy. I don't want to leave you though. I want to make sure you're okay first."

"I'm okay, Elli," Jaxom reassured me. "I just needed to get it out of my system before I exploded."

"Fair enough," I said. "Do you think Sharra and the children need the same treatment?"

"Probably, but the boys will never admit it," Jaxom grinned.

"I'll deliver these gifts now, check on them, and then continue on to the Harper Hall. I still need to deliver Menolly and Sebell's gifts before I return to Honshu to celebrate with Mom and the rest of my family."

Upon landing at Fort Hold, I had to stop and listen to the choir singing from a distance. They were singing "Silent night", as it had just turned Midnight at Fort Hold. I snuck into the hall and delivered my parcels underneath the Christmas tree. Pine trees grew more prevalently in the north than in the South. All the Southern Holds had to enlist the help of Dragonriders from all three Weyrs and the Weyrhold to bring trees back from the northern forests to their Southern Holds. Tears in my eyes for the lovely rendition of "Silent Night" in four-part harmony, I rose to go after setting the last small parcel on top of the others.

"Merry Christmas," I said shakily, standing up and wiping my eyes. "That was lovely, everybody! It's my favorite carol but it's got to be sung right, and you definitely sang it right!"

"Merry Christmas, Elli," everyone chorused in unison. "Safe travels, Santa!"

I quickly ran back out to Chlorith, who still had presents on her back for Raeana. Because of her ability to read, Chlorith had shown me which packages to deliver to which place. She now took flight with the sack of presents tied to her back with the riding straps I'd pilfered from Dana so that I could still use my riding straps to keep me safe on her back while she flew. When we emerged from _between_, we landed just outside the doors, which, for the first time in living memory were unlocked for the night. I always had trouble pushing those heavy metal doors open or shut, so I set my sack down to do it, then picked up the sack. I slid my cane along the ground using constant contact technique, so that no one could hear me enter the weyr. I found the Christmas tree, and set my sack down, opened it, and began to sort out the parcels. I heard footsteps approaching. If it were a child, I was in deep doo doo!

"Mom?" It was Raeana.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart!" I cried, forgetting to be quiet.

"I thought Daddy was gonna deliver presents," Raeana said, surprised.

"I wasn't busy. Daddy was trying to hold up the Christmas tree because it keeps falling out of the stand, so I told him I'd deliver the presents tonight."

"I want to do something for Calentia," Raeana commented, "but I can't remember what day it happened."

"Okay, that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever!" I said in a no-nonsense tone. "You can't remember what day what happened?"

"A'mer," she said. "He died of Threadscore. I want to do what Ariana did for Uncle D'nag."

"That was two Turns ago sometime," I said. "I don't remember when it was either. Perhaps look in the Weyr Records in the AIVAS files? If you kept the date of the death in the files like you were supposed to, that should tell you when he died, and when you should pick him up."

I gave her a big bear hug and kept delivering presents. I heard her walk away toward the Records Room where the big terminal was kept. She shut the door, so that she wouldn't wake anyone else, and I went on delivering presents. Then I returned to Honshu, where all the staff of Robinton Cove were waiting for me. I deposited my gifts under the Christmas tree, then went to lie down and rest for a while. All that timing it was exhausting, especially when you had to implement different time zones into the mix.

When I awoke, it was eight o'clock Honshu time, and I felt refreshed. I crept from my guest room to the great hall where everyone was congregated. Mom was swallowing vomit; I could hear her retching as I drew closer. Raeana was doing something that made Mom sick.

"What's going on?" I demanded.

"Emergency surgery," Dana said wryly. "This should've been done at Robinton Cove, Raeana, but I can see why you didn't bring him there. By the time I'd've gotten there, he and his dragon would've been dead. Don't let Calentia see until you stitch up the wounds. Something has to bring a smile to that poor girl's face. Is it true she'll mate with no one else?"

"Yes," said Raeana sadly. "He's got to make it! He's got to!"

"He will have a long road ahead of him."

"She didn't!" I cried, incensed.

"She didn't what?" asked Dana.

"She didn't bring A'mer back to Honshu!" I cried. "She should've brought him to Robinton Cove!"

My voice attracted the attention of Calentia, who had been sitting alone in her room, weeping and bemoaning the fact that A'mer would not be able to partake in the festivities with us.

"Shh!" Dana cried suddenly, as Calentia walked into the room.

One look at her weyrmate, and she burst into fresh tears, but these were tears of joy as she ran to hold him, but then she paused as she saw Dana suturing him up.

"I just completed the first of several skin graftings he'll need to repair the damage that Thread wrought on him," she explained.

"My A'mer will live?" Calentia asked in a tremulous voice.

"Yes, he'll live," Dana smiled. "But don't touch him just yet. He'll be in a lot of pain. We'll have to give him hyposprays hourly. He won't know where he is for a while though. I'm entrusting you with his care since he won't be able to be moved for a while. You've learned a lot from me at Robinton Cove, so just keep it up. I'll come personally to do the rest of his skin grafts as needed, but you administer the meds and check on the stitches."

The magic of Christmas was in Calentia's eyes as she wanted to know who had rescued her weyrmate. All heads turned to Raeana. Calentia rushed forward, seized Raeana around the neck, and sobbed unrestrainedly into her shoulder. She was so happy to have the love of her life back.

"He'd do well at Robinton Cove," G'narish said thoughtfully. "He was the Weyrhealer, so he'd benefit from lessons with you."

Dana nodded as we all gathered for breakfast, all except Mom, who was still too grossed out by the surgery to eat.

"Merry Christmas to all," said Manora as she served us, "and God bless us, every one!"

Chapter 14 – Facing The Future (Dana's P.O.V.)

With a good deal of luck and no small amount of effort on the parts of everyone involved, the Yuletide Crisis had been narrowly averted. And, as it could only be called a miracle, Thread did not fall anywhere on Pern on that special day, giving further evidence that the introduction of the zebedees into the Red Star's orbital track was having the desired effect.

"The zebedees that were seeded, Masterhealer," AIVAS reported when I queried about the absence of Fall, "are clearly doing their jobs. According to the latest long-range sensor analyses, by the end of this Pass, Thread spores will have been completely wiped out, leaving this star system entirely Thread-free, never to threaten Pern again!"

"That is most welcome news, AIVAS," I replied, grinning from ear-to-ear. "Be sure to post that to the main news website so that everyone will get the good news!"

"Right away!" AIVAS acknowledged.

While it was the best possible news for the citizens of Pern, I still felt a little trepidation about the future of the Dragonriders. The healer-riders of Robinton Cove would continue, our dragons providing near instantaneous medical assistance anywhere on the planet. But what would the rest do? What new purpose could they take on once Thread was gone for good?

Well, we'd already seen one possibility… a planetary defense force, keeping an eye out for approaching extraterrestrial objects… meteors, comets, etc. … that could threaten the continued survival of the residents of Pern. Still, I couldn't help wondering how often they would be called upon to perform that unique service.

Then, there was the idea F'lar had expressed not so long ago… to explore space, to use the unique abilities of dragons to teleport from one place to another. Could they use that ability to become spacefarers? We'd seen during the trans-dimensional Toutatis crisis that dragons could move massive objects across space. It stood to reason they could do the same thing with some sort of spacecraft, allowing dragons and their riders to easily traverse interstellar space in relative safety. I couldn't help chuckling when I stopped to consider what the FSP would think of that form of propulsion.

And then there was the question about Pern and the FSP. Would the citizens of Pern want to reestablish contact with the very organization the original colonists had sought to escape from? Granted, nearly three millennia had passed since the colonists had originally departed Earth. It was also possible that space-faring dragonriders could set out from Pern in search of new worlds to explore, to colonize, perhaps even strike up treaties with some of the more benevolent species they encountered. AIVAS would be a valuable tool in that effort.

Those considerations would have to wait for another day. As we approached the eve of Turnover on Pern, there were other more pressing matters to see to… such as the legal proceedings regarding Dorse, Lord Jaxom's milk brother. And, as I was the resident Lady Holder of Robinton Cove, I was required to attend.

"Southern?!" Dorse exclaimed, pounding the table he was sitting behind. "Why there? I was born in Ruatha!"

"You gave up any claim to Ruatha when you sided with Toric and his Abominators!" Lord Toronas roared back. "Were it up to the rest of us, you'd have been executed along with him. Jaxom was the one who pled for leniency in your case… a life for a life I think is how he put it."

Dorse glared at his former milk brother, snorting with disgust.

"You are being given a chance to mend your ways, Dorse," Lord Larad explained, "just like all the others. Holding in the Southern Continent will be no Gather dance. Whether you survive or not will be entirely up to you. Ask for help, and if it is a reasonable request, then we will do our best to assist you."

Dorse snorted again. "I'd sooner die than take your pathetic aid."

"We'll see," Lord Asgenar sighed, gesturing to the bailiffs. "Only Time will tell if you have a change of heart. Take him away."

Once Dorse and the bailiffs had left the room, the other Lords turned to one of their own.

"Lord Jaxom, I…" Lord Deckter began.

Jaxom held up a hand to forestall any further words. "I appreciate your generosity and compassion in this matter, my Lords and Ladies. Dorse was my milk brother, my life saved by his mother. I owed him at least that. If he is too stubborn to take advantage of what he has been given, then he will have no one but himself to blame. I wish him well."

"You had one other item to bring before us, Dana?" Lord Larad inquired, turning my way.

"I do, indeed, good Lords and Ladies," I replied, activating the portable holovid I had kept from the Toutatis trans-dimensional incident. Gesturing to the 3-d model of the Rukbat star system, I explained, "According to AIVAS' latest deep space scans, the zebedees are doing precisely what we had hoped. Seeded into the debris trail of the Red Star, they have been rapidly working their way back along that trail, annihilating the Thread spores as they go. Because of that, latest analysis indicates that on the day of Turnover, which also coincides with a Rest Day, no Thread will fall anywhere on Pern, giving everyone a much needed break and time to truly rest and relax."

"Now that is most welcome news, Masterhealer!" Lady Janissian of Southern Boll Hold exclaimed.

"AIVAS has already posted the summary on the news website," I said, switching off the holovid device, "so that you can all examine the information at your leisure. As it stands, Threadfall will come to an end, not in the typical 50 Turns, but in only 43. It won't be much longer, my friends."

"What will happen to the dragonriders once they are no longer needed to defend us against Thread?" Lord Nessel of Crom wondered.

I couldn't help chuckling hearing the question I'm sure they were all wondering about.

"Why not simply ask them?" I suggested, smiling. "I'm sure you'll find some of their ideas intriguing and tantalizing!"

With the meeting concluded, I rejoined Goldie and Tarnaa waiting outside and the three of us were awing, heading back to the Southern Continent.

When I reported AIVAS' findings to the crowd gathered at Honshu for the Turnover celebration, the place erupted in cheers and applause.

"Dana, that is so awesome!" Ryeena exclaimed, throwing her arms around my neck and hugging me tightly.

"And I want to thank you, too, Elli," Kara added, giving my friend a warm bear hug, "for everything you and your team have done to help me and my Da!"

"Pshaw!" Elli snorted, waving Kara's thanks aside. "I'm glad we've been able to help in some small fashion."

"Nothing small about that herculean effort, Elli," I assured her, adding my own hug. "Your psych teams have been performing nothing short of miracles rehabilitating those drugged Abominators. Well done!"

_She's right, you know,_ Chlorith silently remarked, sounding a little smug.

Yes, this Turn was coming to an end, and in a few more, the skies of Pern would be forever free of the scourge of Thread. We would really have a Turnover to celebrate on that momentous day!


End file.
